9OCT 1979 Australia’s Daring class destroyer, HMAS Vendetta II was decommissioned on this day, having steamed 670,952 nautical miles. She was commissioned in Melbourne on 26 November 1958. Vendetta was a regular visitor to foreign ports and saw operational service during both the Indonesian Confrontation and the Vietnam War, and also participated in relief efforts in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy.
The destroyer was built by Williamstown Naval Dockyard and entered service in 1958. During her early career, VENDETTA was deployed to the Far East Strategic Reserve on multiple occasions. In 1965 and 1966, the destroyer undertook deterrence patrols during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. Along with several runs escorting the troop transport HMAS Sydney to Vietnam, from late 1969 to early 1970 VENDETTA was assigned to combat operations, and became the only Australian-built warship to serve in a shore bombardment role during the Vietnam War.
VENDETTA underwent a two-year modernisation from 1971 to 1973, and in December 1974 was one of thirteen RAN warships involved in Operation Navy Help Darwin after Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin. Several more deployments were made to the Far East, up until 1978. In October 1979, the destroyer was decommissioned, and served as a parts hulk for sister ship HMAS Vampire. VENDETTA was sold for ship breaking in January 1987. More: http://bit.ly/1O0sVdr
