Abstract
The March 2001 issue of MARENSA’s newsletter, Seaspace, carried the following
report:
‘It is understood that HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Anzac competed recently in a sharp sprint over a three-mile course. Anzac had hoped that a quick engagement of gas turbine power would get them first to the finish line, but Brisbane’s 35-year-old boilers and steam turbines responded promptly to full throttle and the old girl showed she still had an unequalled turn of speed. It has been reported that she reached 32 knots on one minute from a standing start.’
Having no experience with the acceleration of naval vessels, reaching 32 knots in one minute from a standing start sounded very quick to me. With interest aroused, I pulled out my copy of Lackenby’s (1952) paper and did the following calculations to check whether the claim was reasonable: