THE STEEL SISTERS
HMAS Perth was the lead ship of three Perth-class guided missile destroyers built in the United States to a modified version of the Charles F. Adams design, at a cost of $45 million.
She entered service with the RAN in 1965 and made three deployments to the Vietnam War between 1967 and 71.
Serving as a unit of the US Seventh Fleet, Perth provided naval gunfire support to land forces, patrolled the North Vietnamese coast to interdict enemy shipping and attack coastal defence sites, and acted as destroyer escort for US aircraft carriers.
She came under fire from coastal batteries on five occasions, being hit once – the only RAN vessel to have been struck by enemy fire since World War II.
For service on Vietnam operations, the ship was awarded two United States Navy Unit Commendations and personal awards to her crew.
These included an appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a Distinguished Service Medal, four mentions in Dispatches and 51 Naval Board commendations.
In 1980, spent two months with a six-ship squadron, including the RAN flagship , on a flag-showing cruise around the Indian Ocean before two deployments patrolling the Arabian Sea during the Iran-Iraq war with the USS Ranger Battle Group (1981) and the USS John F
