The remainder of the year was spent exercising in Australian waters, including Exercise ASTROLABE in the Tasman Sea, before returning to Sydney for Christmas leave. (John Francis collection). [148] The carrier's deployments for the second half of the year consisted of two exercises, Sea Hawk and Kangaroo 81. Naval units from Australia, the USA, the UK, New Zealand and Canada participated in the exercises which concluded on 18 November. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. She participated in Exercise JUC 76 in February before departing Sydney on 9 March for Asian waters. On returning to Sydney in July she commenced a refit and leave period before sailing again for work-ups in September. She participated in Exercises JUC 61 and HOMERUN with USN units off the New South Wales coast in March, before departing Sydney on 24 February for South East Asian waters. [132] The ship's catapult was replaced with parts from the decommissioned HMCS Bonaventure in 1970. Melbourne maintained this commitment with the Strategic Reserve and later with ANZUK forces, participating in many exercises conducted under the auspices of the South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO). Melbournes 1962 South East Asian deployment began on 28 February when she departed Fremantle for Singapore. Melbourne was back in dock from November 1972 until August 1973, with further work done to her catapult. Following the first decommissioning of sister ship HMASSydney in 1958, Melbourne became the only aircraft carrier in Australian service. When the last ship had passed, tugs were secured and Melbourne berthed at Captain Cook Dock. [120] After having narrowly passed in front of Melbourne, the turns quickly placed Evans back in the carrier's path. The Melbourne-Voyager collision, also known as the Melbourne-Voyager incident or simply the Voyager incident, was a collision between two warships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN); the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and the destroyer HMAS Voyager.. On the evening of 10 February 1964, the two ships were performing manoeuvres off Jervis Bay. The ledger is recorded under the name of the parent vessel or shore base. USS Frank E. Evans in 1963. [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. [46][47][48][49] The carrier was sent to the United States in 1977 to transport back 16 S-2G Tracker aircraft as replacements. Between 1956 and 1959, the RAN considered acquiring a larger carrier to replace Melbourne, as the Fleet Air Arm was becoming obsolete and the RAN did not believe the ship could be modified to operate newer, heavier aircraft. A replacement for Melbourne was under consideration as early as 1956, and the question was revisited on several occasions until the 1980s. [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. Left: A Royal Navy Westland Whirlwind. On 5 March, while conducting an air defence exercise in the southern Coral Sea, one of the ships Wessex helicopters ditched into the water. [35] The radar suite consisted of three Type 277Q height-finding sets, a Type 293Q surface search set, and a Type 978 navigational set. Melbourne went on to visit the Solomon Islands before returning to Jervis Bay on 4 October. [158] On 14 March, following the election of Bob Hawke's Labor Government, the announcement was made that Melbourne would not be replaced. [23] The modifications cost A$8.5million, and included an overhaul of the hull and machinery, strengthening of the flight deck, improvements to the catapult and arrestor cables, modification of the aviation fuel systems and flight control arrangements, and upgrades of the navigational aids and radar. Her steam catapult, arresting equipment and mirror landing system were not removed. [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. The crew formed the caption 20,000 LANDINGS on the flight deck to be photographed by helicopter. [126] However, an industrial dispute amongst the shipyard workers meant that, although the work was completed in early September, the ship remained in the drydock until 11 October. [2], Melbourne was paid off from RAN service in 1982. Melbourne then continued on to Japan and Hawaii for Exercise REX with USN units before returning home via Western Samoa and Fiji. This cine film has been placed online as part of the Sea Power Centre - Australias ongoing archival digitisation program. The integrity of the initial Board of Inquiry has since been questioned, particularly as it was presided over by Rear Admiral Jerome H King, USN, the officer in overall tactical command of Evans at the time of the collision. [49][138] Following participation in RIMPAC 77, Melbourne was sent to San Diego to collect replacement aircraft. [30][31] The refit was lengthened by industrial action at the dockyard. The Sycamores crew and all four passengers were safely retrieved by Hermes. de Havilland Sea Venom FAW.53 fighter aircraft were flown by 805 Squadron RAN and 808 Squadron RAN, while Fairey Gannet anti-submarine strike aircraft were operated by 816 Squadron RAN and 817 Squadron RAN. Here the new aircraft carrier was again warmly greeted and a civic reception was held in honour of the occasion at the Melbourne Town Hall. Surgeon Commander Brian Treloar helps Lieutenant Barry Tuke, RN, down the gangway. Melbourne conducting flying operations with Westland Wessex anti-submarine warfare helicopters. Rank/Class/Branch. Subsequent reports and inquiries noted the exemplary behaviour, absence of panic, and the quiet and calm courage displayed by all involved in the aftermath of the tragedy. [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. Following temporary repairs at Singapore, Melbourne returned to sea on 27 June bound for Australia. The exercise came to a temporary halt however, when a grenade accidentally exploded aboard USS Nicholas and seriously injured two sailors. 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. [155] The government also announced that the ship would be renamed HMASAustralia and operated as a helicopter carrier, and that a decision on the purchase of fixed wing aircraft would be made after acquisition. [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. [66] On return to Australia in mid-November, the carrier visited Melbourne for the 1956 Olympics, where 200 of Melbourne's complement were provided to work as signallers, event marshals, carpenters, and medical workers. 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. Period 1970-1979 Melbourne returned to sea for post-refit trials and workup exercises on 17 March 1967 and participated in the Fleet Concentration Period off Hervey Bay in April. [115][116] Additionally, during the lead up to the exercise, Admiral Crabb had strongly warned that all repositioning manoeuvres performed by the escorts had to commence with a turn away from Melbourne. SEALION concluded on 13 May at Singapore. [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. [83] At 8:52pm, Voyager was ordered to resume the plane guard station. [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. [23][note 3] She was sold again in February 1985 to the China United Shipbuilding Company for A$1.4million, with the intention that she be towed to China and broken up for scrap. [82] The Daring-class destroyer HMASVoyager was also present, undergoing her own trials following refit, under the command of Captain Duncan Stevens. The two other sailors in the car with him suffered only minor injuries. [122] Sailors from Melbourne dived from the flight deck into the water to rescue overboard survivors close to the carrier, while the carrier's boats and helicopters collected those farther out. Both men were transferred to Melbourne for medical attention before the more seriously injured of the two was transferred by air back to Singapore. [132] Components were failing due to wear and age, but the companies responsible for manufacturing the parts had gone out of business during the previous twenty years, sometimes immediately after World War II ended. [27][126] Melbourne was out of service for most of 1971 while she underwent refits, which concluded in early August. Seventy four of Evans crew lost their lives, and Melbourne sustained extensive damage to her bow section. References to many ledgers appear at item level on RecordSearch. Melbourne immediately commenced search and rescue operations and requested assistance from nearby NAS Nowra where search and rescue aircraft and boats were based. [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. Reference staff can help you locate these ledgers and use the database. Melbourne was damaged but sustained no casualties. [23] To operate the new aircraft, the carrier received a major refit on her return to Sydney, which began in December 1967. [16] The size of the ship's company averaged 1,350 officers and sailors, including 350 personnel from the embarked Fleet Air Arm squadrons. [143] During this exercise, Melbourne acquired the nickname 'Little M' after working with 'Big E' USSEnterprisethe smallest and largest aircraft carriers (respectively) in operation at the time. I am proud of them. [35], During the 19671969 refit, thirteen Bofors were removed, leaving four twin and four single mountings. [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 three person crew suffered only minor injuries. Melbourne departed Pearl Harbor on 25 November and arrived back in Sydney, via Suva, on 10 December. [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. See more photos. Ironically, the following day Melbourne celebrated her 20,000th landing when Lieutenant Ryland Gill, RAN, landed his Gannet on board. She departed Sydney to pick up the RANs new Skyhawks and Trackers in the USA on 20 September 1967. She once again visited Hobart in February 1958, before departing from Fremantle for a four month South East Asian and Pacific deployment at the end of March. At the end of the Second World War, work on the ship was suspended until she was purchased by the RAN in 1947. [147] The squadron's return in November 1980 concluded the largest and longest RAN deployment since World War II.[23]. [45] In 1969, the RAN purchased another ten A-4G Skyhawks, instead of the proposed seventh and eighth Oberon-class submarines. The remainder of 1976 and early 1977 were occupied with maintenance, leave periods and local exercises. [77] In August, Melbourne was called upon to lead Exercise Tuckerbox, in the Coral Sea. Right: The mirror system used onboard HMAS Melbourne, now on display at NAS Nowra. [17] During this cruise the carrier participated in four inter-fleet exercises and visited Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Pearl Harbor and Fiji. Search using the name of the vessel as a keyword, and the series number as A4624. Front row, left to right: LEUTs Ronald McIver, Stanley Carmichael, Keith Potts, Neil Ralph and Bernard Brennan. The two groups started SEALION independently before rendezvousing in the South China Sea on 11 May. A Skyhawk coming over Melbourne's round-down. The original message reads: "1942 design" light aircraft carrier program, "HMAS Sydney (III): a symbol of Australia's growing maritime capability", "Official apology for HMAS Melbourne captain", "Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours", "Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours", "China's aircraft carrier ambitions: seeking truth from rumours", A sailor's recollections of several tours of duty aboard the carrier, Royal Australian Navy School of Underwater Medicine, Battle honours of the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam, List of warship classes of the Royal Australian Navy, List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMAS_Melbourne_(R21)&oldid=1139894305, Majestic-class aircraft carriers of the Royal Australian Navy, Short description is different from Wikidata, Use Australian English from February 2014, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Two Parsons single-reduction geared turbine sets; four Admiralty, Latin: "She Gathers Strength As She Goes", Standard: 15,740 long tons (17,630 short tons), Full load: 20,000 long tons (22,000 short tons), 12,000 nautical miles (22,000km; 14,000mi) at 14 knots (26km/h; 16mph), 6,200 nautical miles (11,500km; 7,100mi) at 23 knots (43km/h; 26mph), Navy Engineering, Regulation, Certification and Safety, Royal Australian Navy Tridents Rugby League Team, This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 11:52. HMA Ship List 1911-1939. Sources are inconsistent regarding who attempted to purchase. After a short visit to Melbourne, the carrier returned to Hobart later in the month for the Royal Hobart Regatta and the royal visit of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. Robertson, D. D. Taylor, R. D. Beames, L. A. 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. The Melbourne-Evans collision was a collision between the light aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans of the United States Navy (USN). [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. 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. [32] A refit scheduled to begin in late 1981 was postponed in September until a decision regarding the new carrier was made, then cancelled in January 1982, after the announcement that the RAN would be acquiring HMS Invincible. 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. [94], A Joint RAN-USN board of inquiry was established to investigate the incident, and was in session over June and July 1969. [87] Voyager's forward boiler exploded, briefly setting fire to the bow of the carrier before it was extinguished by seawater. [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. The Australian Government had by this time committed naval forces to what became known as the Far East Strategic Reserve, which provided for an annual visit from an aircraft carrier as part of the RAN's contribution. She returned to sea on 11 October to commence workup exercises and shortly thereafter resumed a regular program of exercises, training and maintenance. Post-war technological developments saw a rapid evolution in naval aviation driven primarily by the advent of jet propulsion. The ship was laid down by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in England in 1911, launched in 1912 and commissioned in 1913. On 26 March 1913, HMAS Melbourne, Australia's first . Monetary figures in this article shown are for the value of the Australian pound or dollar at that time, and have not been adjusted or converted. 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