Special Features of HMAS Advance

HMAS Advance, the third of the Attack Class patrol boats, was built by Walkers Ltd of Maryborough, Queensland.

Advance's hull is steel and the superstructure is aluminum. It is armed for small-scale encounters, with one 40-mm single Bofors gun and two 0.5-inch Browning machine guns to fire warning shots across the bow of a suspect vessel.

The Attack Class patrol boats followed British and US designs with a quintessentially Australian modification - using easily available commercial components in some of the fit out. That's because they operated in remote northern waters, far from military bases, and their best supply source might be an isolated coastal town's hardware store!

When the Attack Class was replaced with the larger Fremantle Class patrol boat, Advance became a Naval Reserve training ship. Decommissioned in 1988, it was transferred to the museum in operational condition and is still used in maritime events.