Patrol Boat (TV series)

Patrol Boat is an Australian television drama series that screened on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Patrol Boat was created by James Davern and two series were produced, in 1979 and 1983, with a total of 26 episodes.

Patrol Boat was about the activities of the crew of a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat which patrolled Australia's coastline. The series was produced with the co-operation of the Royal Australian Navy.

Two fictional RAN patrol boats were depicted in the series. Attack-class patrol boat HMAS Ambush (portrayed by HMA Ships HMAS Advance (P 83) and HMAS Bombard (P 99)) was used in the first season, with filming taking place during 1978 and 1979 around Sydney Harbour, Pittwater, Ku-ring-gai Chase, and the Hawkesbury River. For the second season, the crew transferred to the newer Fremantle-class patrol boat HMAS Defiance (portrayed by HMA Ships HMAS Launceston (FCPB 207), HMAS Townsville (FCPB 205), HMAS Warrnambool (FCPB 204), HMAS Whyalla (FCPB 208), and HMAS Wollongong (FCPB 206)).

The series is similar to the BBC series Warship, made with the co-operation of the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy and screened by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1976. This was before Patrol Boat which was influenced by Warship. Although the 2007 drama Sea Patrol is based on the same subject, it is not intended to be a follow on to Patrol Boat.

Although ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) originally screened both seasons of the TV series Patrol Boat, during 1992 Channel Ten in Sydney replayed a select few episodes of the 1979 first season of the series weekly on Saturday nights at 7.30pm to capitalise on the nostalgia period that the network was trialling at the time.

Main / regular

 * Andrew McFarlane as Lieutenant David Keating
 * Robert Coleby as Lieutenant Charles Fisher, called "X" for executive officer
 * Danny Adcock as Petty Officer "Buffer" Johnston
 * Tim Burns as Able Seaman "Chef" McKinnon
 * Robert Baxter as Petty Officer "Swain" Reynolds
 * Mervyn Drake as Petty Officer Peter Brown
 * Grant Dodwell as Bluey
 * Margo Lee as Matron Whylie
 * Alan David Lee as Walshy
 * Zoe Bertram
 * Janet Andrewartha
 * Philip Parnell as Radio Operator "Nobby" Clarke

Guests

 * Jon Blake as Mawson / Letich (2 episodes)

Episode list
Season 1: 1979 Season 2: 1983
 * 1) "We Lie in Wait" 28 June 1979
 * 2) "Rogue Mine" 5 July 1979
 * 3) "Fish-Heads and Birdies" 19 July 1979
 * 4) "Another Bunch of Reffos" 26 July 1979
 * 5) "Follow the Leader" 2 August 1979
 * 6) "My Dad's a Sailor" 9 August 1979
 * 7) "Conduct Prejudicial" 16 August 1979
 * 8) "Don't Call Me Borgia" 23 August 1979
 * 9) "Incident at Mencken Bay" 30 August 1979
 * 10) "Which Way's Mecca?" 6 September 1979
 * 11) "The Enemy You Know" 13 September 1979
 * 12) "Man Overboard" 20 September 1979
 * 13) "Never Under the White Ensign" 27 September 1979
 * 1) "Something Old, Something New" 19 May 1983
 * 2) "Tango Victor" 26 May 1983
 * 3) "Nice Day For a Cruise" 2 June 1983
 * 4) "Hands to Bathe" 9 June 1983
 * 5) "Cold Turkey" 16 June 1983
 * 6) "Spoils of War" 23 June 1983
 * 7) "All the Nice Girls" 30 June 1983
 * 8) "Make and Mend" 7 July 1983
 * 9) "Operation Christmas" 14 July 1983
 * 10) "The Albatross" 21 July 1983
 * 11) "Par for the Course" 28 July 1983
 * 12) "A Skunk on the Radar" 4 August 1983
 * 13) "Beggarman Thief" 11 August 1983