Australian Patrol Boat Group
The Australian Patrol Boat Group is a Force Element Group (FEG) of the Royal Australian Navy. The group's mission is to provide patrol boat capability for the protection of Australia's national interests.
The Patrol Boat Group operates thirteen (originally fourteen, HMAS Bundaberg was decommissioned in 2014 due to fire damage) Armidale class patrol boats. The Group's headquarters are located at HMAS Coonawarra in the city of Darwin, additional support is provided by the class logistics office at HMAS Cairns.
History
There have been three classes of patrol boat to serve in the Royal Australian Navy; the Attack class from 1967 to 1994, the Fremantle class from 1980 to 2007, and the Armidale class, which entered service in 2005.
Organisation
With the introduction of the Armidale class, the Australian Patrol Boat Group was reorganised into four divisions, named after Attack class ships:
- 1st/Attack Division (HMAS Coonawarra, Darwin)[1]
- HMAS Armidale
- HMAS Larrakia
- HMAS Bathurst
- HMAS Albany
- Six Armidale Class patrol boat crews (Attack 1-6)
- 2nd/Assail Division (HMAS Coonawarra)
- HMAS Pirie
- HMAS Maitland
- HMAS Ararat
- HMAS Broome
- Six Armidale Class patrol boat crews (Assail 1-6)
- 3rd/Ardent Division (HMAS Cairns, Cairns)[2]
- HMAS Wollongong
- HMAS Childers
- HMAS Launceston
- Six Armidale Class patrol boat crews (Ardent 1-6)
- 4th/Aware Division (Dampier, Western Australia)[2]
- HMAS Maryborough
- HMAS Glenelg
- Three Armidale Class patrol boat crews (Aware 1-3) (based in Darwin)