HMAS Brisbane : Gun Plot Room : Ready Spares Cabinet

The ready spares cabinet is a grey, rectangular cabinet with a hinged front cover secured around the edges by eight butterfly clips. A lifting handle is mounted on the left side, a similar handle has been removed from the right side. On the front of the unit in the top left hand corner is a nomenclature plate which reads `Cabinet Ready Spares Mark 6 Mod 0. Assy 2678634, serial no: 67.' Also on the front panel (from left to right) is an aqua vertical socket switch, in the middle of the unit are two black horizontal panels. Each panel has twenty switches (starting from 2-21 on top panel and 22-41 on second panel). On the right hand side of the unit are several dials, switches and indicator lights. In the GPR the Cabinet Ready Spares is mounted above the Stable Element Mk16. Inside the cabinet are a selection of circuit boards and additional items in packets. It is presumed that replacement boards can be installed on the front panel temporarily for testing.

This component was removed from HMAS Brisbane after the ship was de-commissioned in 2001. In the Gun Plot Room the Ready Spares Cabinet is mounted above the Stable Element Mk16. Both items are part of the Radar Set AN/SPG-53F, which is in turn part of the Gun Fire Control System used to direct the ship’s two 5 in. 54 calibre guns. HMAS Brisbane [II] was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy in December 1967 and was the second vessel of that name to serve in the RAN. Known officially as DDG-41, Brisbane was the third of the RAN's American-built "Charles F. Adams" class guided-missiles destroyers. This class were the first major Australian warships designed and built in America, and were constructed by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co. The original complement of the Brisbane was 20 officers and over 300 sailors. Main armament was two 5-inch/54 calibre guns and anti-submarine torpedoes. The Ikara missile system was subsequently added. In later service the ship was known by the nick-name ‘the Steel Cat’. The HMAS Brisbane saw operational service in two conflicts. During the Vietnam War the ship undertook two tours of duty with the United States Seventh Fleet, in 1969 and again in 1971. The ship’s major task was to provide gunfire support for the land campaign. During the Gulf War (1990-91), Brisbane was one of four Australian warships to serve a tour in Gulf waters. The Brisbane arrived in the Gulf in December 1990 and operated there until March 1991, performing a number of roles. Apart from contributing to the anti-aircraft defences in the carrier screen, the ship also kept watch for mines and ensured that small civilian craft kept well away from the carrier group. Later, during Operation Desert Storm, the Brisbane controlled fighter combat air patrols and tanker aircraft. The ship’s final role was as an escort for US replenishment ships. In 2003 HMAS Brisbane was retired from service in the Royal Australian Navy. The Brisbane was the last steam powered ship in the RAN. HMAS Brisbane was sunk as a recreational dive wreck off the coast of southern Queensland in July 2005.