[83], Early in the evening, Voyager had no difficulties maintaining her position during the manoeuvres both ships performed. Rank/Class/Branch. This was the eleventh JET exercise, the third to include Australia, and involved some 41 naval units from six countries. Her voyage to Australia was by way of the Mediterranean Sea and included visits to Gibraltar, Naples and Malta before transiting through the Suez Canal. Since both ships had just completed refits, this was the first time they had been involved in close quarters manoeuvring for almost six months. 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. The search was abandoned the following day. Photo courtesy Lieutenant Commander J Brown. [17] Initially, she had up to 22 fixed wing and 2 rotary wing aircraft embarked at any time. Melbourne was back in dock from November 1972 until August 1973, with further work done to her catapult. All of Melbournes available boats were ordered into the water while inflatable life rafts were deployed, scrambling nets prepared and other preparations made to receive and care for survivors. Melbourne immediately commenced search and rescue operations and requested assistance from nearby NAS Nowra where search and rescue aircraft and boats were based. The Melbourne struck the Evans amidship cutting her in half. She has been innocent, never once bowed to the natural or human force, in spite of the heavy storm and the talked about jinx. The exercise came to a temporary halt however, when a grenade accidentally exploded aboard USS Nicholas and seriously injured two sailors. You can also find information on crew members to the rank of Petty Officer by checking punishment returns for 1912 to 1959, series A7111. [76] The carrier's Strategic Reserve deployment ran from April to June, and was followed by manoeuvres along the east coast of Australia until September. That afternoon a Gannet experienced a total power loss on take off and ditched into the sea about 500 yards from the ship. However, a subsequent RAN court martial cleared him of any responsibility. 808 Squadron in 1955 posing before a Sea Venom onboard Melbourne. [23] In May 1967, it was proposed that while Melbourne was out of service, A-4 Skyhawk pilots and maintenance personnel could be attached to a United States Marine Corps Skyhawk squadron in South Vietnam. [150] In the late 1960s, the British made a similar offer, following a 1966 review indicating that HMSHermes was a superfluous naval unit. SEALION concluded on 13 May at Singapore. 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 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. The disaster resulted in the loss of 82 lives - 14 officers, including the Commanding Officer, Captain Duncan Stevens, himself a former Executive Officer of Melbourne, 67 sailors and one civilian dockyard employee. [85] At the same time, Stevens, having just become aware of the situation, gave the order "Full ahead both engines. Ten members of Melbournes ships company embarked on a relay marathon from Melbourne to Sydney to raise money for Legacy. Finally on 9 May she arrived in Sydney for the first time. Right: The survivors were disembarked from Melbourne when the carrier arrived back in Sydney on 12 February. [110], In September 1967, Melbourne travelled to the United States to collect new aircraft: 14 Trackers and 10 Skyhawks. [150] The only cost to the RAN would have been the modifications required to make the carrier operationally compatible with the RAN's primarily British-designed fleet. Ask us a question about records in our collection. These generally involve requisitioned vessels. [61][63] Melbourne sailed east via the Great Australian Bight, meeting sister ship HMASSydney near Kangaroo Island a week later. Melbourne then continued on to Japan and Hawaii for Exercise REX with USN units before returning home via Western Samoa and Fiji. The first aircraft to touch down on Melbourne's flight deck was a Westland Whirlwind helicopter of the Royal Navy on 6 December 1955. [16] The carrier could achieve a top speed of 24 knots (44km/h; 28mph), and a range of 12,000 nautical miles (22,000km; 14,000mi) at 14 knots (26km/h; 16mph) or 6,200 nautical miles (11,500km; 7,100mi) at 23 knots (43km/h; 26mph). [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. 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). [35], During the 19671969 refit, thirteen Bofors were removed, leaving four twin and four single mountings. 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. She arrived in Pearl Harbor, via Suva, on 25 October. As the ship was never directly involved in a conflict, her weapons and embarked aircraft did not fire a shot in anger. Some groups of vessels, referred to as tenders, have been recorded together as one ledger. [134] The refit concluded in late 1971, with the carrier participating in the first RIMPAC exercise, RIMPAC 71, before the end of the year. [134] While the Army supported this proposal, the Navy successfully argued against its implementation, claiming that transporting troops and cargo would be misusing Australia's only active aircraft carrier, and would prevent Melbourne from participating in several major multi-national exercises. The fleet made its way northwards to the Philippines over the course of the exercise which concluded with a fly-over of aircraft over Manila. 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. Melbourne was released from the search later in the day. Melbourne maintained a regular program of exercises, training and maintenance over the next few years, including annual deployments to the Asia-Pacific region. In November and December Melbourne again visited Port Melbourne where she contributed to the staging of the 16th Olympic Games. list price. Right: Melbourne's damaged bow following her tragic collision with Voyager. [153] By August 1979, the decision was limited to three ships: a modified American Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship, an Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi-class carrier, and a Sea Control Ship design that later became the Spanish Navy's Principe de Asturias. 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. At the end of the Second World War, work on the ship was suspended until she was purchased by the RAN in 1947. USS Frank E. Evans was an Allen M. Sumner class destroyer. HMAS Melbourne (II) with Gannets and Sea Venoms ranged on deck. [23] To operate the new aircraft, the carrier received a major refit on her return to Sydney, which began in December 1967. [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. [109] Consideration was also given to using Melbourne as a floating helicopter base, but only ten Wessex helicopters could be provided, and modifications were required for them to operate as troop carriers. 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. [60] Commanding officers were changed on average every fifteen months, with few remaining on board for more than two years. At the time of purchase, it was decided to incorporate new aircraft carrier technologies into the design, making Melbourne the third ship to be constructed with an angled flight deck. Melbourne was laid down for the Royal Navy as the lead ship of the Majestic class in April 1943, and was launched as HMS Majestic (R77) in February 1945. The need to secure a replacement for Melbourne grew as the carrier's age caused the operating costs to increase to over A$25million per year. [41] The acquisition of 18 Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers was also suggested, but these were dropped from the initial plan. [1], Melbourne began 1974 by transporting 120 Australian soldiers to a temporary assignment with an American infantry battalion based in Hawaii. [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. [36], On 5 December 1976, a fire at the Naval Air Station HMASAlbatross destroyed or heavily damaged 12 of the Fleet Air Arm's 13 S-2E Trackers. Search using the name of the vessel as a keyword, and the series number as A4624. [151] A 2012 article in Jane's Navy International stated that the large quantity of equipment recovered from Melbourne "undoubtedly helped" Admiral Liu Huaqing secure the Chinese government's support for his proposal to initiate an aircraft carrier development programme.[164]. [88] The aft section did not begin sinking until half an hour after the collision, completely submerging just after midnight. [4] The ship was laid down as HMS Majestic on 15 April 1943, and was launched on 28 February 1945 by Lady Anderson, the wife of Sir John Anderson, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer. [78], In 1962, Melbourne began the year's activities at the Royal Hobart Regatta, before sailing to her Strategic Reserve deployment, by way of Adelaide and Fremantle. 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. On 26 March 1913, HMAS Melbourne, Australia's first . Right: Melbourne's bell. [38] Under consideration were British carrier HMSAlbion and a ship of the United States' Essex class. The scrapping was delayed so Melbourne could be studied by the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as part of a secret project to develop a Chinese aircraft carrier and used to train PLAN aviators in carrier flight operations. Not all ledgers for 1950 to 1956 are individually listed on RecordSearch. The ten, ranging in rank from Ordinary Seaman to Commander, formed two five man relay teams and departed Melbourne Town Hall, along with their support volunteers, in the afternoon of 25 April to race the ship back to Sydney. Laid down for the RN as HMS Majestic on 15 April 1943 and launched in 1945, the ship was nearing completion when construction was virtually brought to a halt with the cessation of wartime hostilities. Repairs were once again carried out at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney. 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. [33] After docking at Garden Island in December, the carrier was accidentally flooded by an officer who was impatient to commence leave. Both the carrier and destroyer were 'darkened' with only navigational/operational lighting in use. Voyagers role was that of plane guard, involving the rescue, if necessary, of aircrew personnel from the sea. [1][23] The carrier spent May performing exercises off the New South Wales coast, during which she was called on to rescue three fisherman who had been stranded at sea for the previous two days. [155] The Australian carrier was prepared for disposal, and was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 30 June 1982. Video footage of HMAS Melbourne (II) arriving in Singapore after her collision with USS Frank E Evans in 1969. [154] By February 1981, the Iwo Jima class was the preferred option. [38] Both options were turned down, and it was instead proposed to operate Melbourne as a helicopter carrier. [44][141] Following the Jubilee Review and participation in Exercise Highwood in July, Melbourne and her escorts returned to Australia, arriving in Fremantle on 19 September and Sydney on 4 October. SEALION was the largest SEATO exercise yet involving more than 60 ships from Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, France, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan. The observer, Lieutenant Edward Kennell, RAN, apparently did not eject but was briefly seen in the water next to the wreckage of the Sea Venom before he disappeared. [155] The RAN was again offered HMS Hermes, and again declined due to the carrier's age and manpower requirements. [30][146] On 18 August, Melbourne sailed for Fremantle to participate in Exercise Sandgroper 80. [23], At the end of March 1978, Melbourne left Sydney for RIMPAC 78. [28] The refit took seven months to complete, and cost A$2million. 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. On 3 June 1947 the Commonwealth Government approved the acquisition of two aircraft carriers for the RAN. She participated in Exercise TUCKER BOX 2 later in the year. 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. [124] After Evans' stern was evacuated, it was cast off, while the carrier moved away to avoid damage. Stanley Carmichael also lost his life in similar circumstances in 1959. [61] After visiting Melbourne and Jervis Bay, where the aircraft were offloaded and sent to Naval Air Station HMASAlbatross, the carrier concluded her maiden voyage in Sydney on 10 May. A flash appeared to come from Voyagers A Boiler, and she emitted high pressure steam and black smoke. She visited her namesake city in September ahead of her departure on 11 October for Hawaii to participate in the inaugural RIMPAC exercise. [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. [86], Melbourne struck Voyager just aft of the destroyer's bridge, rolling the destroyer to starboard before cutting her in half. She then returned to Singapore for the SEATO exercise OCEAN LINK. At approximately 8:56pm, some twenty miles south east of Jervis Bay, the two ships were in collision. VIN 3GTP1NEC0JG512012. By the time she returned to sea for SEA DEMON, all nine of her Gannets were flying once again, however a defect in her B1 boiler once again forced her to return to Singapore and ended her involvement in phase one of the exercise. [14] These carriers were intended as "disposable warships": to be disposed of at the end of World War II or within three years of entering service. 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. [59], Following a working-up period in British waters, Melbourne departed Glasgow on 11 March 1956 on her maiden voyage to Australia via the Suez Canal. Following an overhaul of the RAN battle honours system completed in 2010, Melbourne was retroactively awarded the honour "Malaysia 196566" for her service during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation.[170][171]. Work resumed on Melbourne in 1949 at which time it was decided to increase the size of the flight deck lifts to accommodate the larger aircraft coming into service. 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. [149] Melbourne remained in dock at the start of 1982, and did not leave before the decision regarding her replacement was made. 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. Two aircraft carriers for the RAN in 1947 maintained a regular program of exercises, training and maintenance over course. Royal Navy on 6 December 1955 keyword, and cost a $ 2million to to... 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