HMAS Ipswich (FCPB 209)

HMAS Ipswich (FCPB 209, named for the city of Ipswich, Queensland, was a Fremantle class patrol boat in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Design and construction
Starting in the late 1960s, planning began for a new class of patrol boat to replace the Attack class, with designs calling for improved seakeeping capability, and updated weapons and equipment. The Fremantles had a full load displacement of 220 t, were 137.6 ft long overall, had a beam of 24.25 ft, and a maximum draught of 5.75 ft. Main propulsion machinery consisted of two MTU series 538 diesel engines, which supplied 3200 shp to the two propeller shafts. Exhaust was not expelled through a funnel, like most ships, but through vents below the waterline. The patrol boat could reach a maximum speed of 30 kn, and had a maximum range of 5000 nmi at 5 kn. The ship's company consisted of 22 personnel. Each patrol boat was armed with a single 40 mm Bofors gun as main armament, supplemented by two .50 cal Browning machineguns and an 81-mm mortar, although the mortar was removed from all ships sometime after 1988. The main weapon was originally to be two 30-mm guns on a twin-mount, but the reconditioned Bofors were selected to keep costs down; provision was made to install an updated weapon later in the class' service life, but this did not eventuate.

Ipswich was laid down by the North Queensland Engineers and Agents in Cairns, Queensland on 29 October 1980. She was commissioned into the RAN on 13 November 1982.

Operational history
During October and November 2006, Ipswich was the primary ship used for filming the 13-episode Australian television drama series Sea Patrol. Ipswich was rebadged as the fictional HMAS Hammersley (pennant number 202), and spent six weeks operating off Dunk Island with both the show's cast and her normal crew aboard. Footage of Ipswich at sea was mixed with scenes shot on and around sister ship HMAS Wollongong (FCPB 206) while the latter was docked in Sydney.

Fate
Ipswich was decommissioned on 11 May 2007, in a joint ceremony with HMAS Townsville (FCPB 205). The two patrol boats were the last of the class in active service. Ipswich is to be delivered to Birdon Marine in Darwin for disposal. The patrol boat's Bofors gun was incorporated into a naval memorial cairn shaped like Ipswich's bow in Queens Park, Ipswich.