HMAS Brisbane : Combat Data Centre : Plot Table

The table is a large rectangular grey metal unit with a clear Perspex top. It has a heavy cast alloy base, supported in each corner by a shock mount. There are six cable exit elbows on the lower right edge. On the rear face is an access panel secured by two screws. On the left side is a removable cover panel with four rows of louvers. A similar panel is attached to the right side and screwed to this are two ply-wood hinged supports for a varnished extension section. At the front of the table, just below the top are two black control panels, situated side by side and which slope downwards at a 45 degree angle to ensure ease of use. On the left panel (from left to right) is a rubber buzzer button and red indicator light. There are then eight dials, arranged in four sets of two, which control timing gong, power, mode, scale, TPA, heading, projector and speed respectively. On the right control panel (from left to right) are five dials, three on the top row and two below, which control panel and table illumination, speed correction and table slew respectively. On the far right hand side of the panel are four coloured indicator lights ' green, blue, red and yellow, each with a silver flick-switch underneath. Below the flick-switches are sixteen clear indicator lights, arranged in four groups of four. One light is missing. Under the control panel is a metal panel which has the plate with the label SPERRY written on it. The panel can be opened by loosening two screws on the lhs of the panel. Also under the control panel is a flouo orange warning sticker which reads: `WARNING ' Switch does not remove all electrical power from this equipment. Consult handbook before proceeding'. The top of the table has a clear Perspex top, with a silver metal border around the edges. The Perspex is scratched and damaged and cracked in parts. Two silver brackets are attached to the top left hand side of the unit. Through the Perspex you can see the internal workings of the plot table equipment.

This component was removed from HMAS Brisbane after the ship was de-commissioned in 2001. The Plot Table was fitted in the Combat Data Centre. 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.