HMAS

Sheean

Based at Fleet Base West in Western Australia, HMAS Sheean is the fifth of the six Collins Class submarines to enter service in the Royal Australian Navy. These submarines are a formidable element in Australia's defence capability.

Sheean was launched in Adelaide, South Australia by Ordinary Seaman Sheean's sister, Mrs Ivy Hayes on 1 May 1999 and commissioned in Fremantle, Western Australia on 23 February 2001 along with the fourth Collins Class submarine, HMAS Dechaineux.

HMAS Sheean in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia.

HMAS Sheean's operational characteristics and range have been tailored specifically for its defence and two-ocean surveillance role in the Royal Australian Navy. Designed to be as quiet as advanced technology can achieve, Collins Class submarines have been developed from five generations of submarines designed and built by the Swedish Navy.

One of the first submarines to be totally designed by computers, HMAS Sheean boasts a vast range of features. They include a high-performance hull form, highly automated controls, low indiscretion rates, high shock resistance, optimal noise suppression and an efficient weapons handling and discharge system.

Lieutenant Benjamin Piggott looks through the periscope with Lieutenant Commander Simon O'Hehir sitting in the foreground as watch leader when entering harbour in the control room on HMAS Sheean.

The submarine moves silently on electric power supplied to the propulsion motor by banks of new technology lead-free batteries. The batteries are charged by three onboard diesel generator sets.

The sophisticated combat system gathers its intelligence from its sensors, computes the input and then launches and directs weapons.

Anzac Class frigate HMAS Stuart tracks Collins Class submarine HMAS Sheean as she sails past Christmas Island on return to her home port of Fleet Base West.

Since commissioning, HMAS Sheean has successfully conducted a range of activities throughout the region in support of Australian Defence Force exercises, operations and the government's strategic directives.

HMAS Sheean is the only Australian naval vessel to be named after a sailor, Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean VC who distinguished himself in action during World War II. Ordinary Seaman Sheean was lost when HMAS Armidale (I) was sunk on 1 December 1942 off the Timorese coast. Armidale (I) had survived two days of bombing before being struck by a Japanese aerial torpedo. During the action Ordinary Seaman Sheean was wounded and rather than abandoning ship with the rest of his shipmates, he strapped himself to the aft Oerlikon Gun and continued to fire at the attacking Japanese aircraft until Armidale (I) sank. Sheean was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery. On 1 December 2020, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia presented the insignia of the Victoria Cross for Australia to Teddy Sheean’s family at a ceremony held at Government House in Canberra, ACT.

History of the Crest

The Blazon

Vert, in base embattled azure an oerlikon.

Motif Description

The blue field represents the Navy and the sea. The green field represents the farming fields and Mt Roland of Sheean's home town of Latrobe. The Oerlikon represents the weapon which Sheean manned to the last. The division of the fields is known in heraldic terms as "embattled" and in this context signifys that Sheean's last stand was during battle.

HMAS Sheean berthed alongside at the 2016 Fremantle Port's Maritime Day in Fremantle.

HMAS Sheean passes the historic United States Navy Iowa Class battleship, USS Missouri (BB-63), as she makes her way into Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014.