HMAS Aitape

HMAS Aitape commissioned under the command of Lieutenant WSG ‘Sam’ Bateman RAN at HMAS Moreton in Brisbane on 13 November 1967. It was one of 20 Attack Class patrol boats ordered for the RAN in November 1965. The Attack Class was equipped with high-definition navigation radar, magnetic compasses, an echo sounder and air-conditioning for service in northern Australian waters. Their primary role was to conduct patrol work in Australian territorial waters, which, for Aitape and 4 other Attack Class patrol boats, included Papua New Guinea (PNG) which was an Australian protectorate until 1975.

Aitape embarked the General Officer Commanding, Northern Command, Major-General Timothy Cape OBE DSO, for a familiarisation cruise up the Brisbane River on 14 November before departing Brisbane for Sydney on 22 November in company with ship of the same class HMAS Attack. The 2 patrol boats then began work-up exercises on 30 November, participating in Exercises WINDLIGHT and CLOUDLIGHT in December although adverse weather conditions limited their respective contributions.

With work-ups competed, the 2 vessels departed Sydney on 20 December spending Christmas Day in Cairns before continuing on their respective deployments on Boxing Day.

Aitape arrived in Port Moresby, PNG, on 29 December where its commanding officer called on the administrator, Mr David Hay CBE DSO (who had been awarded his DSO for his part in the Aitape/Wewak campaign during the Second World War), senior administration and military staff. The ship’s company then spent New Year’s Eve at Samarai in Milne Bay. Sailing the following day, Aitape continued on to its new home port at HMAS Tarangau in Lombrum, Manus Island arriving on 3 January 1968. There it was warmly welcomed by local officials and residents.

Aitape was later joined by HMAS Samarai in April, HMAS Lae in July, HMAS Ladava in December and HMAS Madang the following year in March 1969. Together they formed the PNG Division of the patrol boat force.

After a brief period of maintenance and training, Aitape cast off for its first patrol in the north-west New Guinea area on 15 January 1968 with several PNG sailors embarked for training. The patrol included a visit to Wewak where Aitape’s radio operator was landed for medical attention after suffering a high fever. 

It also conducted a visit to its namesake port, Aitape, on 21 January. On 23 January, while approaching Lombrum, Aitape suffered a complete engine failure and drifted for about an hour before the port main engine was restarted enabling it to continue to its berth alongside.

Aitape soon settled into a routine program of patrols, exercises and maintenance while also providing training for PNG sailors. It would regularly visit remote locations and local coast watchers which included visits to the British protectorate of the Solomon Islands. Public relations was a major aspect of Aitape’s duties, not only being visible but imparting a positive impression of both the RAN and Australia upon local communities.

In August Aitape operated in support of the RAN Experimental Laboratory (RANEL) under the auspices of Project Barrabool, and during September and October it participated in Exercise CORAL SANDS off the coast of New Britain. Unfortunately a defect in the starboard main engine forced its withdrawal from the exercise on 3 October and it made for Port Moresby where a crack in its hull was also detected. With the slipways at Port Moresby unavailable, it was redirected to Madang on 14 October for repairs and was back at sea 3 days later.

The Christmas and new year period was interrupted following the sighting of 2 foreign fishing vessels (one Russian and the other Japanese) operating in the Gulf of Papua. Aitape put to sea on 29 December to investigate and patrolled until 6 January 1969 but neither was located.

Aitape made its first apprehension when a Formosan fishing vessel was sighted near Tolokiwa Island on 12 February. After observing the vessel throughout the evening, Aitape intercepted its in the early hours of the next morning taking its in tow to Lae.

In February Aitape was joined by HMAS Ladava (Lieutenant Commander Blenkinsopp, RAN) to undertake a 3 day navigational passage into the mighty Sepik River. Together the 2 patrol boats ventured 230 miles inland setting a new record for the RAN.

Aitape was briefly back in Australian waters when it visited Thursday Island from 2 to 5 May 1969. It participated in Exercise OLGETA TRU with Army personnel from the PNG Cadet School in June and the following month departed Tarangau for a major refit in Sydney, which included the replacement of both main engines and generators. It arrived in Sydney on 28 July and the PNG sailors aboard took the rare opportunity to undertake a number of training courses while they were in Australia. The refit completion date was pushed back by some 7 weeks due to industrial action on Sydney’s wharves but Aitape was finally back at sea for postrefit trials on 26 November. After a period of shakedown and work-ups, it departed Sydney for PNG on 8 December. It arrived in Port Moresby on 17 December and returned to Tarangau 5 days later.

The new year saw Aitape continue a routine program of patrols, exercises and maintenance and on 9 January 1970 it rescued 11 Indonesian men and one woman from a stricken merchant vessel which had run aground on a reef west of Manus Island. The vessel, MV Xaverius, had been adrift for over 6 weeks when it grounded and its crew, all of whom survived the ordeal, had subsisted on a diet of margarine and flour from the ship’s cargo.

Aitape participated in the anti-infiltration Exercise WOK-WARA in April and squadron exercises in June. On 15 July it came to the assistance of HMAS Lae which had run aground on the north coast of New Britain the previous day. Lae was successfully re-floated on 17 July. Aitape also suffered a number of mechanical defects in July including a steering gear breakdown and a defect in the starboard engine in August which took 3 days to rectify. It briefly visited Darwin in November before undertaking a voyage up the Fly River in company with HMAS Ladava, conducting hydrographic soundings as they went. After 12 days and covering 994 miles (497 miles each way) the 2 patrol boats emerged from the river on 16 December.

The regular program of patrols, exercises and maintenance resumed at the beginning of 1971. On 19 March, in company with HMAS Samarai, Aitape rendezvoused with HM Yacht Britannia flying the Royal Standard of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. Aitape’s navigating officer was briefly transferred to the royal yacht for medical treatment to a deep cut above his left eye before the 2 patrol boats escorted Britannia into Madang the following day. On 21 March, His Royal Highness toured Samarai before enjoying drinks in Aitape’s wheelhouse. He departed Madang by air the following day while Britannia headed for Manus, and Aitape and Samarai returned to Tarangau.

Aitape resumed patrol work in April and June and participating in squadron exercises in company with the River Class destroyer escort HMAS Derwent. On 24 July it departed Tarangau for Sydney where it arrived on 2 August for an extended refit. A series of delays saw the scheduled completion date blow out by nearly 2 months and Aitape did not return to sea until the new year. It commenced sea trials on 5 January 1972 but engine and propeller problems kept its in Sydney eventually forcing its re-slipping in order to fit a new propeller in February. Its sea trials were finally completed successfully on 4 February and, following a work-up period, it departed Sydney for the return voyage to Tarangau on 15 February.

Throughout March the patrol boat took part in routine patrols and exercises including participation in Exercise PLANTI MANUA, however, it was again forced to slip at Manus later in the month to repair a propeller after striking a submerged log. Navigation hazards were ever-present in New Guinea waters and damage to underwater fittings was commonplace.

With repairs completed, Aitape resumed patrols in April in PNG and Solomon Islands waters. This was punctuated in June with participation in a search for a missing Formosan fishing vessel that covered more than 2,000 nautical miles. Regrettably the vessel was not located.

September 1972 saw Aitape and HMAS Bombard provide support to the RAN Research Laboratory which was conducting trials and a reef survey in the vicinity of Kavailo Bay. On 17 September Aitape apprehended a Taiwanese fishing vessel which was subsequently escorted to Kavieng. The next day 3 more foreign fishing vessels were intercepted and escorted into Lorengau. A series of engine and radio defects hampered patrols in the Solomon Islands during October, and in November survey operations in the Strickland River proved to be a navigational nightmare resulting in further propeller damage.

In January 1973 Aitape participated in squadron exercises before undertaking a program of patrol work, exercises and routine maintenance. Often PNG cadets would join the vessel for consolidation and navigation training which also formed an important part of its schedule. In March Aitape embarked a microbiologist from the Department of Health, PNG Government, to visit some of PNG’s more remote areas as part the Government’s program of malarial control. In April it participated in further squadron exercises and in June it exercised with elements of the First Pacific Islands Regiment of the PNG Defence Force.

Operating conditions in New Guinea waters were hard on the Attack Class patrol boats and Aitape returned to Australia for a 2-yearly refit, arriving in Cairns on 6 June. In stark contrast to its previous problematic refit, this refit progressed rapidly and Aitape was back at sea on 20 September 1973 after successfully completing sea acceptance trials. It departed Cairns for PNG on 2 October arriving in Port Moresby the next day where it resumed the normal routine of patrols, exercises and maintenance for the remainder of the year.

In early 1974 Aitape participated in squadron exercises and fired a 21-gun salute for HMY Britannia when the royal yacht entered Keita Harbour on 22 February. It then formed part of the escort force for Britannia’s passage from Keita to Rabaul where Aitape’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Ken Wintle RAN, along with HMAS Madang’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Derek Caton RAN, were presented to Its Majesty the Queen. Aitape was released from its royal commitments on 24 February.

Further squadron exercises were programmed for June but the boat was beset with ongoing engine and gearbox defects which had been hampering the boat’s operations since May. These were eventually addressed when Aitape was slipped at Madang in July, however, defect rectification continued at Tarangau from 10 July through August and into September. With the problems persisting, Aitape departed Tarangau for Cairns on 23 September escorted by HMA Ships Madang (as far as Samarai) and Ladava. Aitape and Ladava arrived in Cairns on 27 September. With the defects repaired, Aitape put to sea again on 22 October and shaped course for Port Moresby, conducting exercises en route. It arrived on 25 October and returned to Tarangau on 8 November.

With the impending independence of Papua New Guinea in 1975, the service of the PNG Patrol Boat Squadron in the RAN, along with their base at HMAS Tarangau, was coming to an end. On 14 November 1974, HMA Ships Aitape, Ladava, Lae, Madang, Samarai and Tarangau decommissioned as units of the RAN and recommissioned flying the new White Ensign of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) Maritime Element.

HMAS Aitape played a valuable role in maintaining regional maritime security in and around New Guinea during the years leading up to PNG independence. Its crews can be proud of their achievements in keeping their boat operational in a difficult, and at times hazardous, navigational environment. After many years of service in the PNGDF it was decommissioned and later sunk as a dive wreck near Port Moresby Harbour.