Design and construction
The ''Attack'' class was ordered in 1964 to operate in Australian waters as patrol boats (based on lessons learned through using the s on patrols of Borneo during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, and to replace a variety of old patrol, search-and-rescue, and general-purpose craft. Initially, nine were ordered for the RAN, with another five for Papua New Guinea's Australian-run coastal security force, although another six ships were ordered to bring the class to twenty vessels. The patrol boats had a displacement of 100 tons at standard load and 146 tons at full load, were in length overall, had a beam of , and draughts of at standard load, and at full load.Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Ships since 1946'', p. 86Blackman (ed.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968–69'', p. 18 Propulsion machinery consisted of two 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines, which supplied to the two propellers. The vessels could achieve a top speed of , and had a range of at . The ship's company consisted of three officers and sixteen sailors. Main armament was a bow-mounted Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60, Bofors 40 mm gun, supplemented by two .50-calibre (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns and various small arms. The ships were designed with as many commercial components as possible: the ''Attack''s were to operate in remote regions of Australia and New Guinea, and a town's hardware store would be more accessible than home base in a mechanical emergency.''The patrol boat'', Australian National Maritime Museum ''Barbette'' was built by Walkers Limited at Maryborough, Queensland,Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Ships since 1946'', p. 87 launched on 10 April 1968, and commissioned on 16 August 1968.Operational history
''Barbette'' paid off on 15 June 1984. She was transferred to the Indonesian Navy on 22 February 1985 and renamed KRI ''Siada'' (862). The patrol boat was listed in ''Jane's Fighting Ships'' as still operational in 2011.Citations
References
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbette (P 97) Attack-class patrol boats Ships built in Queensland 1968 ships Patrol vessels of the Indonesian Navy