[165] The carrier departed Sydney on 27 April 1985, heading for Guangzhou, under the tow of tug De Ping. Melbourne returned to sea on 6 February 1964 and proceeded to Jervis Bay to commence exercises with HMA Ships Voyager (II) and Kimbla. [135] Melbourne remained off Darwin until 18 January 1975, acting as operational headquarters and a helicopter base. [36] Between entering service and 1959, four of the single Bofors were removed. In the foreground is the Landing Signal Officer, Lieutenant Peter James. [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. 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. Thompson and Potts were both killed when their Sea Venom crashed into the sea in 1956. This was followed by radio sea trials between the two ships. Duties: [4], A review by the Australian Government's Defence Committee held after World War II recommended that the post-war forces of the RAN be structured around a Task Force incorporating multiple aircraft carriers. Historic video footage showing a Gannet anti-submarine aircraft taking off and landing from the deck of HMAS Melbourne (II). The six most seriously injured survivors were transferred to Balmoral Naval Hospital by helicopter the following day, while others remained aboard Melbourne until she returned to Sydney on 12 February. In the early hours of 3 June 1969, in a manoeuvre almost identical to the near-miss with Larson a few days earlier, the destroyer USS Frank E Evans crossed Melbournes bows while attempting to move in the planeguard position, and was cut in two. 644 mi - Melbourne, FL. Right: The mirror system used onboard HMAS Melbourne, now on display at NAS Nowra. These generally involve requisitioned vessels. Serving in the RAN's flagship had its benefits when it came to recreational activities and keeping fit, with Melbourne's flight deck providing an excellent sporting platform, circa May 1969. [157] The Australian government began to reconsider the previous contenders for replacement, as well as considering requesting the United Kingdom or United States to build a simple carrier capable of operating F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters, but the issue was suspended at the commencement of the 1983 Australian Federal Election. However, a subsequent RAN court martial cleared him of any responsibility. [30] While moored in Sydney Harbour, on 24 July, Melbourne was struck by Japanese cargo ship Blue Andromeda. [169] Another anchor and the starboard side ship's bell are on display at the RAN Heritage Centre at Garden Island. Surgeon Commander Brian Treloar helps Lieutenant Barry Tuke, RN, down the gangway. Two days prior to that, one of Melbourne's Gannet aircraft developed an engine fault on take off and ditched into the sea ahead of the ship. [38] Under consideration were British carrier HMSAlbion and a ship of the United States' Essex class. The Minister for Defence, the Hon Allen Fairhall, MP, addressing the audience at Melbourne's rededication ceremony on 14 February 1969. [121], Seventy-four of the 273 personnel from Evans were killed in the collision, with the majority of these believed to have been asleep or trapped inside the bow section, which sank within minutes. Job Skills /. [23] On 24 August 1973, Melbourne returned to Hawaii to participate in RIMPAC 73. [23] The four Bofors twin mountings were removed in 1980. Many survivors were embarked in Melbourne while others were transported by other search and rescue vessels to HMAS Creswell at Jervis Bay. 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. 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. The Minister for the Navy, Senator John Gorton, however, argued for Melbournes retention in an anti-submarine capacity and 27 Westland Wessex anti-submarine helicopters were subsequently ordered, the first coming into service in November 1962. [132] The ship's catapult was replaced with parts from the decommissioned HMCS Bonaventure in 1970. She arrived back in Fremantle on 22 June. The two other sailors in the car with him suffered only minor injuries. [88] The aft section did not begin sinking until half an hour after the collision, completely submerging just after midnight. 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. Debris, including the revolution table from Voyager's bridge, and a pair of binoculars, was thrown onto Melbourne's flight deck. [84] It was initially assumed by Melbourne's bridge crew that Voyager was conducting a series of tight turns to lose speed before swinging behind Melbourne, but Voyager did not alter course again. Tenders are additional vessels used to help or serve another vessel. Both men were transferred to Melbourne for medical attention before the more seriously injured of the two was transferred by air back to Singapore. (John Francis collection). [54][55] Although one of the largest ships to serve in the RAN, Melbourne was one of the smallest carriers to operate in the post-World War II period. Melbourne was the only Commonwealth naval vessel to sink two friendly warships in peacetime collisions.[1]. [166] The journey was delayed when the towing line began to part, requiring the carrier and tug to shelter in Queensland's Moreton Bay, on 30 April. [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. [26][114], Melbourne's commanding officer during the SEATO exercise was Captain John Phillip Stevenson. She performed sea trials in Jervis Bay from 17 February until 5 May, then sailed for Subic Bay, Philippines, to participate in SEATO Exercise Sea Spirit. [16] Melbourne's two propellers were driven by two Parsons single-reduction geared turbine sets providing 40,000shp, which were powered by four Admiralty 3-drum boilers. [10] Despite an increase to approximately one acre (4,000square metres, 4,800square yards) in area, the deck was still significantly smaller than other Cold War era carriers; S-2 Trackers, with their 22.12-metre (72ft 7in) wingspan, had less than a metre's clearance for their starboard wingtip when landing, and pilots from other navies often refused to attempt landing. Melbourne was back in dock from November 1972 until August 1973, with further work done to her catapult. [17], Following the recommencement of construction, modifications were made to the ship, based on wartime experience and Britain's post-war carrier warfare technology and innovations. [57] During her service, the carrier was deployed overseas on 35 occasions, visited over 22 countries, and was seen as the physical and psychological centrepiece of the RAN fleet. [155] She was towed to the mooring dolphins near Bradley's Head, where she remained until 1985. 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. [1][56] A decision was made in 1959 to restrict Melbourne's role to helicopter operations only, but was reversed shortly before its planned 1963 implementation. The forward section of Evans sank quickly while her stern section was secured to Melbournes starboard side enabling that part of the ship to be searched for survivors. [121], Following the collision, Melbourne travelled to Singapore for temporary repairs to her bow, arriving on 6 June. [10] As the carrier neared completion, a commissioning crew was formed in Australia and first used to return Vengeance to the United Kingdom. Honour Roll OFFICERS AND MEN LOST IN HMAS SYDNEY (II) Name. The Navy stopped recording crew information in this way after 1956. [42][43] Both aircraft types entered RAN service in 1968, with the Trackers operated by 816 Squadron RAN and 851 Squadron RAN, and the Skyhawks by 805 Squadron RAN and 724 Squadron RAN. The ships visit to Rabaul was marred by the tragic death of Seaman Brendan Lane in a car accident on 25 September. State. Department of Defence users will not be able to view this video on the Defence Protected Network. [93][94], Of the 314 personnel aboard Voyager at the time of the collision, 14 officers, 67 sailors, and 1 civilian dockyard worker were killed, including Stevens and all but two of the bridge team. Work progressed slowly thereafter and many lessons learnt during the war regarding carrier design and operations were incorporated into the ship's modernisation programme. [161][162], The carrier was initially sold for breaking up as scrap metal for A$1.7million, although the sale fell through in June 1984. Behind him from left to right are Chaplain Alan Batt, Chaplain Louis Breslan, the Minister for the Navy, the Hon Charles 'Bert' Kelly, MP, and Melbourne's Commanding Officer, Captain John Stevenson, RAN. Special Forum to pay respects to the 82 men who lost the lives in the collision on 10th February 1964 when HMAS Voyager was sunk by the Aircraft Carrier HMAS Melbourne. ", before instructing the destroyer's Quartermaster to announce that a collision was imminent. [24][25] Air conditioning systems and a liquid oxygen generation plant were also installed. [5] Flight direction radar was included, making Melbourne the only military airfield in the Australasian region at the time capable of operating aircraft at night and in poor weather.[13]. [151], The deal was put on hold in April 1982, following the outbreak of the Falklands War. 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. Right: Leading Musician Cross lets one the students try out the trombone. I am also proud to record that Voyagers officers and men displayed the same high standards of individual behaviour. | Australian War Memorial Home Collection Crew members aboard HMAS Vampire. 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. HMAS Melbourne (FFG 05) was an Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate of the Royal Australian Navy, which entered service in 1992. [107] Utilising the carrier was suggested again by RAN officials in March 1966, when the United States Seventh Fleet was having difficulties maintaining anti-submarine patrols around Yankee Station, but Melbourne could only remain on station for a single, ten-day period, a third of the time that US carriers were operational for on rotating deployments. The ship was not scrapped immediately; instead she was studied by Chinese naval architects and engineers as part of the nation's top-secret carrier development program. 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. There was a moment of levity during the exercises when Melbourne fuelled from USS Ponchatoula and the American replenishment vessel demonstrated its method of passing the first line with a baseball and bat. Not all ledgers for 1950 to 1956 are individually listed on RecordSearch. [83] At 8:52pm, Voyager was ordered to resume the plane guard station. Building trust in the public record policy, Getting started with information management, Royal Australian Navy ship and crew records, the approximate service period of the individual, remarks about punishments or qualifications, any incidents occurring on board during tours of duty, the design, construction and maintenance of vessels, ships' logs from 1855 onwards, in a number of series, records on design, construction and maintenance (including. Crew members of the HMAS Melbourne (II) attend a memorial service on the deck of the aircraft carrier while it transports injured sailors from HMAS Voyager (II) to Sydney. Blue exterior, Brown interior. Search and rescue operations began immediately in the aftermath of the collision. . Melbourne in San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. While in the Philippines Melbourne embarked the Philippine President Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay as well as the three Philippine service chiefs and the Australian ambassador for a flying demonstration. This is reflected in the title for each volume, for example, 'HMAS Rushcutter, quarter ended 30/6/1941'. The British Type 293 surface search set was retained and an LW-02 air-surveillance radar was installed over the bridge. [45] Melbourne operated a standard air group of four Skyhawks, six Trackers, and ten Wessex helicopters until 1972, when the Wessexes were replaced with ten Westland Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters and the number of Skyhawks doubled. [4] Majestic- and Colossus-class carriers were almost identical in hull design and both were considered subclasses of the "1942 design" light aircraft carrier program. During the First World War the R.A.N. She departed Sydney to pick up the RANs new Skyhawks and Trackers in the USA on 20 September 1967. On 1 May, the evening before the conclusion of SEA DEVIL, it was discovered that Leading Engineering Mechanic James Gartside was missing from HMAS Vendetta (II) and believed lost overboard. [23] During this deployment, on 21 June 1981, Melbourne rescued 99 Vietnamese refugees from a disabled fishing vessel in the South China Sea. She participated in Exercise JUC 63 in August, visited New Zealand in September, and took part in Exercise SWORDHILT in the Coral Sea in October. A crew member of the search and rescue helicopter entered the water but could not find him, and tragically, subsequent search and rescue efforts found no trace of him. [4] Following the end of World War II, the Admiralty ordered the suspension of many British shipbuilding projects, including the fitting out of Majestic and her five sister ships. Middle: Some students receiving instruction on the drums from Musician Wright. HMAS Voyager sank on the night of 10 February 1964 off Jervis Bay, southern NSW, following a collision with the Melbourne during exercises off Jervis Bay, southern NSW. [116] In preparation for launching a Tracker, Stevenson ordered Evans to the plane guard station, reminded the destroyer of Melbourne's course, and instructed the carrier's navigational lights to be brought to full brilliance. [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. The success of the exercises was tempered, however, when one of Melbournes Sycamore helicopters ditched into the sea near HMS Hermes while conducting a personnel transfer to the British carrier. 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. [1] [147] On 24 October, a Tracker from Melbourne observed Soviet warships Storozhevoy and Ivan Rogov shadowing the squadron. The final leg of her voyage home was via Jervis Bay where the 64 aircraft that Melbourne had brought from the UK were transferred ashore via lighter for road transport to the Naval Air Station at Nowra. The Melbourne struck the Evans amidship cutting her in half. In 1922 the Melbourne was involved in a dramatic rescue of the crew of an American schooner in the Tasman Sea, at the height of a hurricane. 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