[151] In 1968, Hermes took part in a combined exercise with the RAN, during which the carrier was visited by RAN and Australian government officials, while RAN Skyhawks and Trackers practised landings on the larger carrier. [28] The 1969 and 1971 refits did improve conditions, although there was little scope for upgrade, and the system was still inadequate: temperatures inside the ship continued to reach over 65C (149F), and on one occasion a hold reached 78C (172F). [29] The next major refit ran from April 1975 to June 1976, and was intended to increase the operational lifespan of the carrier to at least 1985. She visited Pearl Harbor, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco before proceeding to San Diego, where the new aircraft were embarked on Friday 27 and Monday 30 October. Melbourne returned to sea on 6 February 1964 and proceeded to Jervis Bay to commence exercises with HMA Ships Voyager (II) and Kimbla. [1] This was followed by goodwill visits to numerous Southeast Asian ports, including Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, and Surabaya, before Melbourne returned to Sydney at the end of April. Honour Roll OFFICERS AND MEN LOST IN HMAS SYDNEY (II) Name. A replacement for Melbourne was under consideration as early as 1956, and the question was revisited on several occasions until the 1980s. On 27 March she contributed to Exercise SHOWPIECE off Singapore designed to impress upon the political and military leaders of the region the continued strength and readiness of the British Far East Fleet. [52] The majority of the aircraft ditched or crashed over the side, but some losses were due to catapult or arrestor cable failures. Available from cooeehistory.com RRP $49.95. [110] Both options were made more prohibitive by the need to supply at least two escorts for the carrier at a time when the RAN was having difficulty meeting deployment commitments with the available destroyers and destroyer escorts. Left: One of HMAS Melbourne's boats with HMAS Voyager survivors aboard. [65] Melbourne spent from September to November in Southeast Asian waters, during which she participated in Exercise Albatross and received an official visit by Philippines president Ramon Magsaysay. Left: The band played a concert featuring a guest conductor. [114] Rear Admiral John Crabb, the Flag Officer Commanding Australian Fleet, was also embarked on the carrier. Corrective action from both ships was required to avoid a collision. Finally on 9 May she arrived in Sydney for the first time. Upon her return to Sydney, Melbourne commenced preparations for a major refit and modernisation, conducted at Garden Island Dockyard, to enable her to operate her new aircraft. He was 31 years of age. [16] The size of the ship's company averaged 1,350 officers and sailors, including 350 personnel from the embarked Fleet Air Arm squadrons. [4] Work progressed on Majestic at a slower rate, as she was upgraded with the latest technology and equipment. Ask us a question about records in our collection. Requirements. Middle: Some students receiving instruction on the drums from Musician Wright. [105][106] As the carrier was optimised for anti-submarine warfare, there was little need for her at the start of the war. Country. She once again escorted Sydney for three days between 14 and 17 September northwards off the Queensland coast towards New Guinea before detaching for Port Moresby and, later, on to Rabaul. Not long afterwards the first fixed wing aircraft, a Hawker De Havilland Sea Venom and a Fairey Gannet, arrived during trials in the English Channel. Melbourne and the FAA in general received a boost during the year with the decision to re-equip the FAA with Douglas A4G Skyhawk fighter bombers and Grumman S2E Tracker anti-submarine warfare aircraft. [71] At the start of 1959, Melbourne spent four days in her namesake city, where she was used for the filming of On The Beach, based on Nevil Shute's post-apocalyptic novel of the same name. She departed Sydney on 27 January 1972 for that years South East Asian deployment and arrived in the Philippines, via Papua New Guinea, on 10 February. The exercise commenced on 16 April and included sea and air units from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US, Pakistan and Thailand, under the overall command of the Flag Officer Commanding HMA Fleet, Rear Admiral Alan McNicoll, CBE, GM, RAN, aboard Melbourne. She went on to visit Hong Kong in April before proceeding to Osaka, Japan, where members of the crew and the ships band contributed to Australian National Day on 8 May during Expo 70. She visited Pearl Harbor and Suva en route, and arrived in Jervis Bay, where the Skyhawks were landed, on 21 November. A joint USN/RAN Board of Inquiry into the tragedy held Captain Stevenson partly responsible, stating that as Commanding Officer of Melbourne, he could have done more to prevent the collision from occurring. Melbourne immediately commenced search and rescue operations and requested assistance from nearby NAS Nowra where search and rescue aircraft and boats were based. The aircraft was seen to take off normally but quickly veered to the right and down into the water. The Australians got one up on their American counterparts, however, when Sub Lieutenant Charlie Morris, RAN, was piped up to the flight deck with hammer. Early in 1957 Melbourne visited Hobart to coincide with the Royal Hobart Regatta in February before crossing the Tasman to participate in exercises with the New Zealand cruiser HMNZS Royalist. Melbourne never fired a shot in anger during her service career, having only peripheral, non-combat roles in relation to the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and the Vietnam War. On 3 June 1969, the two ships were participating in SEATO exercise Sea Spirit in the South China Sea.Around 3:00 am, when ordered to a new escort station, Evans sailed under Melbourne ' s bow . [16] At launch, the carrier was 213.97 metres (702.0ft) long overall, but this was increased by 2.43 metres (8.0ft) during a refit in 1969. Vessels requisitioned for the War are not listed here but you can see the full list with their Pendant Numbers. The first aircraft to land on HMAS Melbourne. [39] A reduction of embarked plane numbers to four Sea Venoms and six Gannets, along with regular rotation and careful use of the aircraft, extended their service life until the mid-1960s, while the size of the air group was maintained by carrying up to ten Wessex helicopters. [30] These were prophetic, as on the night of 2425 December 1974, Cyclone Tracy destroyed the city of Darwin. [143] On return in July, the carrier entered a major refit, which continued until 3 August 1979. [155], Plans to replace Melbourne changed in July 1981; the British 1981 Defence White Paper had marked the recently commissioned HMSInvincible as surplus to requirements, and she was offered to the RAN for the 'bargain' price of GB175million (A$285million). [3] It has also been claimed that the Royal Australian Navy received and "politely rejected" a request from the PLAN for blueprints of the ship's steam catapult. The British Type 293 surface search set was retained and an LW-02 air-surveillance radar was installed over the bridge. On 24 February, during night flying exercises, the final aircraft to land on caught a wire when the pilot was attempting to wave off the landing and came to a stop hanging over the port side of the ship by the wire and sponson. Voyagers role was that of plane guard, involving the rescue, if necessary, of aircrew personnel from the sea. Search using the name of the vessel as a keyword, and the series number as A4624. [77] Following the conclusion of Tuckerbox, the carrier visited several New Zealand ports before returning to Sydney for demonstration exercises and public relations activities. (Courtesy Mike Breakspear). This was the eleventh JET exercise, the third to include Australia, and involved some 41 naval units from six countries. [54] Melbourne was unavailable to provide air cover for the RAN for up to four months in every year; this time was required for refits, refuelling, personnel leave, and non-carrier duties, such as the transportation of troops or aircraft. HMAS Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Great Price $165 off avg. She visited New Guinea before proceeding on to Subic Bay where she commenced the SEATO exercise SEA ROVER in March and April, which took the SEATO fleet across the South China Sea to Sattahip in Thailand. 74 American personnel died, and a joint USNRAN Board of Inquiry was held. Recovery of life rafts from the Evans. References to many ledgers appear at item level on RecordSearch. She participated in Exercise TUCKER BOX 2 later in the year. She entered refit in November in preparation for embarking the RANs new Skyhawk and Tracker aircraft in 1967, though a longer and more extensive modernisation would be required to make her fully operational with her new aircraft. Melbourne departed for her South East Asian deployment on 24 February, during which she visited New Guinea; Singapore where she participated in Exercise FOTEX 65; Hong Kong; the Philippines where she took part in the SEATO exercise SEAHORSE; and Thailand. Wild was transferred to the USN hospital at Sasebo before being returned to Australia. The ship took part in Exercise JUC 85 later that month and into August, before departing for Pearl Harbor to participate in RIMPAC 72 on 17 August. Their boat was towed back to Sydney by a police launch. [23] The four Bofors twin mountings were removed in 1980. Vickers Armstrong Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness, England, Lady Anderson, wife of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Crew members aboard HMAS Vampire. [152] In June 1977, the Defence Force Development Committee approved an investigation into acquiring a STOVL/helicopter carrier. [93] Several of the Southeast Asian deployments were related to the IndonesiaMalaysia confrontation, and involved participation in show of force exercises off the coast of Malaysia. Once this was completed, Melbourne was removed while the new bow was put in place in the drydock. [108] Seventh Fleet staff suggested in April 1967 that Melbourne deploy in the anti-submarine role, but nothing came of these talks. [130] In December 2012, Stevenson announced that he had received a letter from the Minister for Defence, apologising for his treatment by the RAN and the government of the day.[131]. Right: The survivors were disembarked from Melbourne when the carrier arrived back in Sydney on 12 February. Memorabilia from Melbourne's voyages with the Fleet Air Arm embarked, and examples of all the types of aircraft deployed on Melbourne, are on permanent static display in the Fleet Air Arm Museum at HMAS Albatross. Melbournes journey back to Sydney was notable for the Melbourne-Sydney Marathon. Surgeon Commander Brian Treloar helps Lieutenant Barry Tuke, RN, down the gangway. [164] Reports have circulated that either a replica of the flight deck, or the deck itself, was used for clandestine training of PLANAF pilots in carrier flight operations. On 18 March Melbourne deployed for a five month deployment that saw her circumnavigate Australia and return to South East Asian waters where she participated in the international Exercises TRADEWIND and ASTRA. [39], From March 1965 until mid-1967, Melbourne underwent a regular pattern of deployments to Southeast Asia, exercises, and flag-showing visits to nations in the Asia-Pacific region. HMAS Melbourne (FFG 05) was an Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate of the Royal Australian Navy, which entered service in 1992. We pay our respects to the people, their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging. [82] The trials involved interactions between both ships, and when Melbourne performed night-flying exercises that evening, Voyager acted as the carrier's plane guard escort. [156] The Invincible class had been considered and discarded during the investigation, but the decreased price and the fact the already-constructed carrier would be ready for RAN service in 1983 prompted the Australian government to announce its intention to purchase Invincible on 25 February 1982 and close the carrier acquisition program. [85] At 8:55pm, with Voyager approaching, Melbourne's navigator ordered the carrier's engines to half astern speed, with Robertson ordering an increase to full astern a few seconds later. Melbournes South East Asian deployment began slightly earlier in 1961, as the ship departed from Fremantle on 20 February in order to participate in Exercise JET 61 in the Indian Ocean off Ceylon (Sri Lanka). [84] The procedure to accomplish this required Voyager to turn away from Melbourne in a large circle, cross behind the carrier, then take position off Melbourne's port side. [102], Melbourne spent ten weeks at Cockatoo Island Dockyard, having her new bow fitted. On 3 June 1947 the Commonwealth Government approved the acquisition of two aircraft carriers for the RAN. She then went on to visit Hong Kong before proceeding to Singapore to participate in the SEATO exercise SEA SERPENT, which in 1963 was being conducted congruently in Manila and Singapore. She departed for her annual South East Asian deployment from Darwin on 7 April, and visited Singapore before proceeding on to Manila to participate in Exercise SEALION. This cine film has been placed online as part of the Sea Power Centre - Australias ongoing archival digitisation program. The Flagship band was part of the RAN massed bands that gave an extremely polished display in the main stadium as a prelude to the official opening ceremony. [23] She returned to Australia on 12 October, but sailed out ten days later to participate in Exercise Leadline off Malaysia, before reaching Sydney again in December. While the construction of the RAN's first carrier, HMAS Sydney (III), was too advanced to include these modifications, the construction of Melbourne was still at an early enough stage for their inclusion. She departed Sydney for Asian waters on 5 May and visited New Guinea before continuing on to the Philippines to participate in the SEATO exercise, SEA SPIRIT. This photo is taken from the flight deck of the RN aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, with her aircraft in the foreground. [30] She then sailed to San Francisco to collect 12 new Chinook and five UH-1 Iroquois helicopters for the Royal Australian Air Force, arriving in Australia with her cargo in April. 99,290 miles. Melbourne struck Voyager at the after end of her bridge, heeling her over to an angle of about 50 degrees. [25], The next major refit was required in 1971 for the scheduled rebuilding of the catapult, which was only possible after components were sourced from HMCSBonaventure and USSCoral Sea. [73] The rest of the year was spent visiting Australian and New Zealand ports. Responsible for maintaining carpet and hard surface floors in commercial buildings using industry approved methods and chemistry. [5] Initial plans were for three carriers, with two active and a third in reserve, although funding cuts led to the purchase of only two carriers in June 1947: Majestic and sister ship HMS Terrible, for the combined cost of AU2.75million,[note 2] plus stores, fuel, and ammunition. Naval Airman Douglas Wild suffered severe internal injuries when he slipped while trying to unhook an arrestor wire from a Gannet and was partially crushed between the tail of the plane and the ships deck. HMAS Melbourne celebrates her 20,000th landing. [3] It is unclear whether the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) orchestrated the acquisition of Melbourne or simply took advantage of the situation; Rear Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong, a staff member at the National Defence College, has stated that the Navy was unaware of the purchase until Melbourne first arrived at Guangzhou. [42] A separate proposal to order 10 A-4G Skyhawks, a variant of the Skyhawk designed specifically for the RAN and optimised for air defence, was approved in 1965. [139] A two-seat Harrier jump jet demonstrator undertook a series of trial takeoffs and landings aboard Melbourne on 30 June: a trial organised as part of the project overseeing the ship's potential replacement. Occurring off the New South Wales coast in 1964, the aircraft carrier Melbourne and destroyer Voyager were engaged in night flying exercises when Voyager inexplicably turned in front of Melbourne's bow. [30] This was immediately followed by a visit to the Solomon Islands in early April. Ten members of Melbournes ships company embarked on a relay marathon from Melbourne to Sydney to raise money for Legacy. [120] After having narrowly passed in front of Melbourne, the turns quickly placed Evans back in the carrier's path. On 15 June Melbourne led a column of RAN ships into Sydney Harbour for a ceremonial fleet entry celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the granting of the royal assent to the RAN. [17][69], From February until July 1958, Melbourne was deployed on a 25,000-nautical-mile (46,000km; 29,000mi) flag-showing cruise. This cine film has been placed online as part of the Sea Power Centre - Australias ongoing archival digitisation program. [76] In the lead up to Melbourne's 1961 deployment to the Strategic Reserve, the carrier visited Bombay, Karachi, and Trincomalee. [77][78] It was the first time a flagship of the RAN had entered Indian waters. Melbourne spent most of the first half of 1970 in foreign waters. See more photos. [52] After Melbourne was decommissioned, the Fleet Air Arm ceased fixed-wing combat aircraft operation in 1984, with the final Tracker flight saluting the decommissioned carrier. She departed for the return journey to Australia on 31 October. [1], More large-scale refits occurred throughout the rest of the 1970s. Both men were transferred to Melbourne for medical attention before the more seriously injured of the two was transferred by air back to Singapore. Long shot of HMS Bulwark at anchor off Pall Tidman, 1969. . Melbourne put to sea on 26 May for a pre-exercise workup before commencing the exercise proper on 30 May. The helicopters aircrew was recovered uninjured by HMAS Derwent. [114][120] At approximately the same time, Evans turned hard to starboard to avoid the approaching carrier. [51][54] Arriving back in Sydney on 5 April, the carrier was sent on a five-month deployment to the United Kingdom on 28 April, accompanied by HMASBrisbane and HMNZSCanterbury. [114][119] Seeing the destroyer take no action and on a course to place herself under Melbourne's bow, Stevenson ordered the carrier hard to port, signalling the turn by both radio and siren blasts. HMAS Melbourne was originally one of six Majestic Class light fleet aircraft carriers ordered for the Royal Navy (RN) during World War II. [18] These included an angled flight deck, steam catapult and a mirror landing aid, making Melbourne the third aircraft carrier (following HMSArk Royal and USSForrestal) to be constructed with these features, instead of having them added later. RIMPAC activities occupied the ship for most of September before she went on to visit Yokosuka, Japan, in early October, and Manila where she participated in the SEATO exercise SEA SCORPION. [23][62] The ship visited Gibraltar, Naples, Malta, Port Said, Aden, and Colombo, before arriving in Fremantle on 24 April 1956. List of shipwrecks: 6 February 1969 Ship Country Description USS ATC-132-1 United States Navy The armoured troop carrier capsized off Vietnam. possessed 63 Ships, 22 of these were requisitioned. Melbourne was damaged but sustained no casualties. [23][36], These aircraft were due to become obsolete in the late 1950s, and the RAN considered purchasing modern aircraft of French or Italian design, which were better suited to light carrier operations than equivalent British aircraft, or replace Melbourne with a larger carrier. [16] She had a beam of 24.38 metres (80.0ft), and a draught of 7.62 metres (25.0ft). As the ship was never directly involved in a conflict, her weapons and embarked aircraft did not fire a shot in anger. [67][68] The carrier spent the rest of the year visiting Australian ports for open inspections by the public. She departed Sydney to pick up the RANs new Skyhawks and Trackers in the USA on 20 September 1967. The PLAN subsequently arranged for the ship's flight deck and all the equipment associated with flying operations to be removed so that they could be studied in depth. [36][39] The decision to retire the fixed-wing component of the Fleet Air Arm was rescinded in 1963, and on 10 November 1964, a AU212million increase in defence spending included the purchase of new aircraft for Melbourne. [30] While moored in Sydney Harbour, on 24 July, Melbourne was struck by Japanese cargo ship Blue Andromeda. The missing vessel was located on the morning of 6 July some 60kms offshore, and the three occupants, suffering from exposure but otherwise in good health, were embarked in Melbourne by the carriers rubber Gemini dinghy. A shore party took part in an internal security exercise at RNAS Sembawang in August before the ships departed for home later that month. [167] Melbourne arrived in China on 13 June. [58][59], As Melbourne was the only ship of her size (both in dimensions and ship's company) in the RAN, the carrier underwent a regular rotation of commanding officers to give them experience. In the act of taking a new station 1,000 yards astern of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne (R21), the two ships were soon on a collision course. [127] It was learned during the inquiry that Evans' commanding officer was asleep in his quarters at the time of the incident, and charge of the vessel was held by Lieutenants Ronald Ramsey and James Hopson; the former had failed the qualification exam to stand watch, while the latter was at sea for the first time. [79] In September, Melbourne reprised her role as the leader of Exercise Tuckerbox II. Historic video footage showing a Gannet anti-submarine aircraft taking off and landing from the deck of HMAS Melbourne (II). [1] At the conclusion of this exercise, Melbourne proceeded to Japan on a diplomatic visit, then sailed to the Philippines to exercise with SEATO ships. She returned to Singapore in an attempt to clear the contamination before the upcoming SEATO exercise, SEA DEMON. The Great Australian Bight lived up to its reputation as a rough sea with Melbourne enduring a heavy swell during her passage east for a four day visit to her namesake city, Melbourne. [114] Stevenson held a dinner for the five escort captains at the start of the exercise, during which he recounted the events of the MelbourneVoyager collision, emphasised the need for caution when operating near the carrier, and provided written instructions on how to avoid such a situation developing again. [40][41], The RAN planned to acquire 14 Grumman S-2E Tracker anti-submarine aircraft, and modernise Melbourne to operate the aircraft. Both the carrier and destroyer were 'darkened' with only navigational/operational lighting in use. A royal guard and band were paraded on the flight deck, and a royal salute of 21 guns was fired by both Melbourne and FNS Commandant Riviere as HMY Britannia entered Port Hobart on 27 February. [74] All four Sea Venom incidents occurred in March, with three attributed to aircrew error and one to brake failure. For more information, you can ask us a question. [39] The success of the trials, along with the discovery that Melbourne was able to operate both aircraft with relatively minor modification, led the Australian Government to approve the purchase of these aircraft. The deployment was also notable as the only occasion on which both RAN aircraft carriers, Melbourne and Sydney, deployed overseas together. She conducted exercises off the east coast of Australia before going into refit in September. [117], On the night of 23 June 1969, Melbourne and her escorts were involved in anti-submarine training exercises in the South China Sea. [149] In his haste to shut down the carrier, he failed to deactivate the water pumps, and over 180tons of fresh water were pumped in before a maintenance party discovered the flooding the next day. A BritIsh Avro Vulcan flies over HMAS Melbourne during exercises in SE Asia. [95] A Royal Commission into the events of the collision was held in 1964, and found that while Voyager's crew was primarily at fault for neglecting to maintain an effective lookout and awareness of the larger ship's location, Melbourne's bridge crew was also at fault, for failing to alert Voyager and not taking measures to avoid the collision. [61][63] Melbourne sailed east via the Great Australian Bight, meeting sister ship HMASSydney near Kangaroo Island a week later. On 26 October 2019, Melbourne was decommissioned from the RAN, subsequently being transferred to Chile. Following her return, the carrier spent six months in Australian waters, before a two-month deployment to Southeast Asia. [154] By February 1981, the Iwo Jima class was the preferred option. [146] On 8 September, Melbourne, accompanied by Perth, Derwent, Stalwart, Supply, and Otama deployed to the Indian Ocean as the Australian Squadron for a flag-showing cruise. The stern section remained afloat. Repairs were once again carried out at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney. [164] At this time, few western experts expected that the Chinese government would attempt to develop aircraft carriers in the future. She was, however, involved in two major collisions with allied vessels; though Melbourne was not found to be the primary cause of either incident. [36] Between entering service and 1959, four of the single Bofors were removed. On 26 November 1959, the Minister for Defence, the Hon. The passage proved a difficult one as cyclonic conditions caused a number of accidents and injuries throughout the fleet, including a shipwright aboard Melbourne who injured his hand in a circular saw and required surgery. [147] During this cruise two Skyhawks were lost: on 2 and 21 October. [114] A radio message was sent from Melbourne to Evans' bridge and Combat Information Centre, warning the destroyer that she was on a collision course, which Evans acknowledged. 1355 (includes 347 Carrier Air Group personnel), Parsons single reduction geared turbines, 2 shafts, Westland Wessex anti-submarine helicopters (later), Sea King anti-submarine helicopters (later). Back row, left to right: LEUTs Peter Wyatt and David Hilliard, LCDRs Peter Seed and George Jude, LEUTs Barry Thompson, Alan Cordell, Edward Wilson and Geoffrey Gratwick. Her steam catapult, arresting equipment and mirror landing system were not removed. To many ledgers appear at item level on RecordSearch Crabb, the turns placed. Approved methods and chemistry progressed on Majestic at a slower rate, as she upgraded... Few western experts expected that the Chinese Government would attempt to develop aircraft carriers the! 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