Australian warship sent to a watery grave

An Australian destroyer that served in Vietnam and the first Gulf War was sent to the bottom of the sea in an elaborate ceremony on Sunday to become a diving attraction off Queensland state's Sunshine Coast.

Thousands of spectators on small boats watched as 38 controlled explosions sent the HMAS Brisbane to a watery grave about two nautical miles east of Mudjimba Island, the Australian Associated Press reported.

Canadian artificial reef expert Roy Gabriel said 30kg of explosives sank the 3 370-ton ship within about two minutes.

"Everything went exactly as we planned. The boat is perfectly on the bottom sitting bolt upright," he said.

The Brisbane, nicknamed The Steel Cat, undertook two tours of duty in Vietnam in 1969 and 1971 and was one of four Australian warships to serve in the 1991 Gulf War.

A Charles F. Adams class guided-missile destroyer, it was launched on May 5, 1966.

Source: www.iol.co.za