[92], Melbourne arrived in Sydney with the survivors on 14 February, and after spending time alongside at Garden Island, was moved to Cockatoo Island Dockyard on 25 March, where repairs were undertaken; the damaged section of the bow was cut away and repairs to the ship's internal structure were undertaken in drydock, while a 40-ton prefabricated bow was constructed. Both men were transferred to Melbourne for medical attention before the more seriously injured of the two was transferred by air back to Singapore. Melbourne once again visited Hobart in early February 1963 and conducted exercises with other RAN units in Tasmanian waters. HMAS Melbourne undergoing temporary repairs in Singapore. [62], In February 1957, Melbourne was sent to the Royal Hobart Regatta. On 8 August tragedy struck Melbourne when Lieutenants Barry Thompson and Keith Potts of 808 Squadron were both killed when their Sea Venom crashed into the sea off Hervey Bay shortly after take off. [155] The Australian carrier was prepared for disposal, and was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 30 June 1982. Sources are inconsistent regarding who attempted to purchase. The fleet was divided into two with Melbourne's group operating out of Manila, the second group operating out of Bangkok. The National Archives holds these in Canberra in the record series A4624. The National Archives of Australia acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. Melbourne leads 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 as a Sycamore helicopter flies overhead. [75] The year began with exercises en route to Adelaide, followed by a visit to the Royal Hobart Regatta. [151] The performance of Invincible and other Royal Navy aircraft carriers during the conflict showed that the report which suggested reductions in the size of Britain's carrier fleetwith the follow-on effect of making Invincible available for salewas flawed, and both sides withdrew from the deal in July. [83], Early in the evening, Voyager had no difficulties maintaining her position during the manoeuvres both ships performed. [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. The Minister for Defence, the Hon Allen Fairhall, MP, addressing the audience at Melbourne's rededication ceremony on 14 February 1969. She returned to sea on 11 May 1964 and commenced work-up exercises off the coast of New South Wales. Right: A Hawker De Havilland Sea Venom. He would later finish fourth at the 1962 Commonwealth Games. 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. 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. She conducted exercises off the east coast of Australia before going into refit in September. 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. [114] Evans was positioned on Melbourne's port bow, but began the manoeuvre by turning starboard, towards the carrier. [16] The size of the ship's company averaged 1,350 officers and sailors, including 350 personnel from the embarked Fleet Air Arm squadrons. [32] During this refit, on 3 March, a boiler explosion caused minor damage to the carrier. [44] These weapons were donated to the Australian War Memorial at Stavromenos, in Crete's Rethymno regional unit. [100] The second commission found that Stevens was medically unfit for command and that some of the findings of the first Royal Commission were therefore based on incorrect assumptions. [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. [84] Instead, Voyager first turned to starboard, away from Melbourne, then turned to port without warning. HMAS Melbourne was originally one of six Majestic Class light fleet aircraft carriers ordered for the Royal Navy (RN) during World War II. This event not only revived memories of the Voyager tragedy five years earlier, but also pre-empted another tragedy to come. 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. Salvaged by USS YLLC-5 ( United States Navy) and floating crane YD-220 and refloated the next day. ", before instructing the destroyer's Quartermaster to announce that a collision was imminent. [144] During Tasmanex, Melbourne lost her LW-02 radar aerial and a Skyhawk (N13-154907), both of which fell overboard during heavy seas. HMA Ship List 1911-1939. This definition does not include seaplane tender. 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. Exercise SHOWPIECE in the South China Sea. 99,290 miles. [169] Another anchor and the starboard side ship's bell are on display at the RAN Heritage Centre at Garden Island. Left: Lady White unveils Melbourne's ship's badge. Unfortunately tragedy struck Melbourne later in the year when Leading Seaman Allan Moore was killed during exercises in Jervis Bay on 20 July. [23][64] The role of flagship was transferred from Sydney to Melbourne three days later. [147] During this cruise two Skyhawks were lost: on 2 and 21 October. Blue exterior, Brown interior. [155] She was towed to the mooring dolphins near Bradley's Head, where she remained until 1985. While Melbourne was undergoing temporary repairs in Singapore, the ship's band spend time at the Singapore School for the Blind. In June 1981, crew on the Australian Navy's HMAS Melbourne were flying in an anti-submarine patrol plane, a Grumman S-2G Tracker 851, when they helped rescue 99 refugees from their broken-down vessel in the South China Sea, 250 nautical miles east of Vietnam. [151] Both offers were turned down due to operating and manpower costs. The service life of the Sea Venoms and the Gannets, meanwhile, was extended past 1963. navy.gov.au HMAS Melbourne (II) HMAS Melbourne (R21) was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy. Once this was completed, Melbourne was removed while the new bow was put in place in the drydock. [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. [126][133] During this year, the carrier also visited Japan to participate in Expo '70, and was hit by Manly ferry South Steyne while alongside at Garden Island, causing minor damage to both vessels. [129] In a repeat of the aftermath of the Voyager collision, Melbourne's captain resigned amid accusations of scapegoating. On completion of these exercises she made port visits to both Wellington and Auckland before returning home to Sydney. She visited New Guinea and Singapore before proceeding to rendezvous with Sydney to once again join the troop carriers escort force bound for Vietnam. [4] Work progressed on Majestic at a slower rate, as she was upgraded with the latest technology and equipment. [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. [149] Melbourne remained in dock at the start of 1982, and did not leave before the decision regarding her replacement was made. [61][63] Melbourne sailed east via the Great Australian Bight, meeting sister ship HMASSydney near Kangaroo Island a week later. Every day Melbourne provided some 200 personnel to act as marshals in various stadia, additionally, signalmen, carpenters and sick berth attendants were utilised to perform special duties. 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. [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. The aft section of USS Frank E Evans carefully being brought along side in Subic Bay. The exercise came to a temporary halt however, when a grenade accidentally exploded aboard USS Nicholas and seriously injured two sailors. NSW. 644 mi - Melbourne, FL. SEA DEMON concluded on 27 April, and Melbourne visited Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea before returning to Brisbane on 11 June. Melbourne immediately commenced search and rescue operations and requested assistance from nearby NAS Nowra where search and rescue aircraft and boats were based. Stanley Carmichael also lost his life in similar circumstances in 1959. To use these records effectively you need: The best available source for crew details is the ships' ledgers. Thousands of people turned out to watch her arrive in the harbour and three days later she replaced HMAS Sydney (III) as the flagship of the RAN when Rear Admiral HM Burrell broke his flag in her. The stern section remained afloat. [124] After Evans' stern was evacuated, it was cast off, while the carrier moved away to avoid damage. Ledgers were completed quarterly for each ship, or shore establishment. En route, on 2 August, she participated in the search for survivors from the collier Birchgrove Park which had foundered north of Port Jackson the previous night resulting in the loss of ten lives. I am proud of them. [155] The RAN was again offered HMS Hermes, and again declined due to the carrier's age and manpower requirements. Project Team. [134] The refit concluded in late 1971, with the carrier participating in the first RIMPAC exercise, RIMPAC 71, before the end of the year. 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. [44] The highlight of the deployment saw the three ships represent Australia and New Zealand at the Silver Jubilee Naval Review on 28 June 1977. 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. [135] Melbourne remained off Darwin until 18 January 1975, acting as operational headquarters and a helicopter base. Unfortunately Melbourne's involvement in FOTEX was curtailed as water ingress through the oil filler access door of her Gannet aircraft rendered all but one unserviceable. 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. When the last ship had passed, tugs were secured and Melbourne berthed at Captain Cook Dock. [36] The three 277Q radars were replaced with updated American and Dutch designs: a LW-02 air search set and a SPN-35 landing aid radar. 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. [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. [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. The aircrew was rescued but efforts to recover the Gannet were unsuccessful and it was eventually released overboard. The first aircraft to touch down on Melbourne's flight deck was a Westland Whirlwind helicopter of the Royal Navy on 6 December 1955. A small team of RAN officers developed a detailed plan for the acquisition of two of these vessels along with two Carrier Air Groups (CAGs) and the establishment of a naval air station. Melbourne returned to sea on 6 February 1964 and proceeded to Jervis Bay to commence exercises with HMA Ships Voyager (II) and Kimbla. [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. Hard-a starboard. HMAS Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Right: The survivors were disembarked from Melbourne when the carrier arrived back in Sydney on 12 February. This photo is taken from the flight deck of the RN aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, with her aircraft in the foreground. [38] Under consideration were British carrier HMSAlbion and a ship of the United States' Essex class. Melbourne conducting flying operations with Westland Wessex anti-submarine warfare helicopters. The pilot, Lieutenant John da Costa, RAN, one of the FAAs most experienced pilots, ejected before the aircraft hit the water and was later rescued by a search and rescue helicopter. | Australian War Memorial Home Collection Crew members aboard HMAS Vampire. Melbourne went on to visit New Guinea, the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore before returning to the Philippines to participate in the SEATO exercise SEADOG in July. HMAS Melbourne celebrates her 20,000th landing. We will commemorate crew members from HMAS Voyager (II) (pictured) who paid the supreme sacrifice in the service of their country, and the persons who answered the call for assistance including HMA Ships Melbourne, Stuart, Hawk, Ibis, Curlew, Snipe and Teal and search and rescue (SAR) vessels from HMAS Creswell (Air Sprite and Air Nymph), air [147] On 24 October, a Tracker from Melbourne observed Soviet warships Storozhevoy and Ivan Rogov shadowing the squadron. The Australian War Memorial also holds relevant information. 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. Following temporary repairs at Singapore, Melbourne returned to sea on 27 June bound for Australia. Wild was transferred to the USN hospital at Sasebo before being returned to Australia. She arrived in Sydney the following day where the Trackers were landed. 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. [77] Following the conclusion of Tuckerbox, the carrier visited several New Zealand ports before returning to Sydney for demonstration exercises and public relations activities. It is the most prestigious fleet award in the RAN, one which the carrier would go on to win twice more, in 1962 and 1972. Budgetary constraints from the late 1950s had placed some doubt over the future of naval aviation given the large financial outlay required to operate aircraft carriers and their associated aircraft. [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. The Royal Australian Navy does not lack quality in its men. [159] A Sydney-based group proposed in 1984 to purchase Melbourne and operate her as a floating casino moored in international waters off Eden, New South Wales, but nothing came of this. (John Francis collection). [79] After Strategic Reserve duties were completed, the carrier visited Japan, Guam, and Manus Island before returning to Sydney in late July. [19] At Melbourne's commissioning, the standard air group consisted of eight Sea Venoms and two squadrons of eight Gannets, with two Bristol Sycamore search-and-rescue helicopters added shortly after the carrier entered service. Melbourne's service is commemorated with a stained-glass window at the Garden Island Naval Chapel. 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. Country. Melbourne was back in dock from November 1972 until August 1973, with further work done to her catapult. A BritIsh Avro Vulcan flies over HMAS Melbourne during exercises in SE Asia. SEALION concluded on 13 May at Singapore. Historic video footage showing a Gannet anti-submarine aircraft taking off and landing from the deck of HMAS Melbourne (II). Melbourne went on to visit Yokohama and Djakarta before arriving back in Fremantle on 24 June. [103] Following the repairs, Melbourne was involved in Strategic Reserve deployments and exercises in Southeast Asia from June until September 1964. [101] Robertson and the other officers of Melbourne were absolved of blame for the incident. That December she commenced another major refit at Garden Island Dockyard during which her flight deck was strengthened and her catapult rebuilt with a bridle catcher extension. Upon the conclusion of SEADOG, the carrier returned to Australia and arrived at Fremantle, via Singapore, on 8 August. [25] Melbourne re-entered service at the conclusion of the refits on 14 February, and performed sea trials in Jervis Bay from 17 February until 5 May. [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. 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. The fleet conducted Exercise SUNDEX en route to Singapore, where they participated in Exercise FOTEX 59. [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. [8][9] Incorporation of new systems and enhancements caused the cost of the RAN carrier acquisition program to increase to AU8.3million. The collision of HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Voyager remains the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) worst peacetime disaster. Rank/Class/Branch. Surgeon Commander Brian Treloar helps Lieutenant Barry Tuke, RN, down the gangway. Early in her career, Melbourne underwent a series of short annual refits, commencing in September and ending in January or February of the next year. Right: Leading Musician Cross lets one the students try out the trombone. HMAS Melbourne (R21) was a Majestic -class light aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1955 until 1982, and was the third and final conventional aircraft carrier [note 1] to serve in the RAN. Later that year she participated in Fleet Concentration Period off Jervis Bay in October, and visited New Zealand in November. [1], Melbourne began 1974 by transporting 120 Australian soldiers to a temporary assignment with an American infantry battalion based in Hawaii. [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. Shift: Monday thru Friday 6:00pm-2:30am. [135] Melbourne, Brisbane, and eleven other ships were deployed as part of the largest peacetime rescue effort ever organised by the RAN: Operation Navy Help Darwin. [167] Melbourne arrived in China on 13 June. 1959 began positively for Melbourne, with the news that she had been awarded the Duke of Gloucesters Cup for 1958 as the RAN unit displaying the highest level of overall proficiency for the year. In 1970, Melbourne participated in three major inter-navy exercises: Sea Rover with SEATO forces in the South China Sea, Bersatu Padu with British Commonwealth forces off Malaysia, and Swan Lake with the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy off Western Australia. She joined Sydneys escort group for the final time early in June, and visited Malaysia later in the month before returning home. [28] The refit took seven months to complete, and cost A$2million. She steamed into Singapore on 6 June with flags flying at half mast. 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. At the end of the Second World War, work on the ship was suspended until she was purchased by the RAN in 1947. [166] The towing gear broke a day later, requiring a second tug to secure the carrier while repairs were made to De Ping. 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 . Melbourne commenced her South East Asian deployment shortly after her visit to Hobart, departing Sydney on 7 March. 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. 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]. During the 1970s and early 1980s, replacing parts became an increasing problem. [110], In September 1967, Melbourne travelled to the United States to collect new aircraft: 14 Trackers and 10 Skyhawks. I am also proud to record that Voyagers officers and men displayed the same high standards of individual behaviour. She visited Singapore and participated in Exercise FESTOON en route to Hong Kong, where members of her ship's company took part in the Queen's Birthday Parade on 21 April. Melbournes Commanding Officer, Captain Ronald Robertson, DSC, RAN, later reported; The actions required of Melbournes ships company called for individual initiative at all levels, and calm resolve to an extent that is not often required in peace time. The two groups started SEALION independently before rendezvousing in the South China Sea on 11 May. [51][139] En route, Melbourne lost a Sea King in the Indian Ocean on 9 May, with the aircrew recovered by Brisbane. Larson made an incorrect turn and was, at one stage, on a collision course with Melbourne. [1] In August, Melbourne sailed for Hawaii to participate in RIMPAC 72. On 25 May Melbournes Commanding Officer, Captain John Stevenson, RAN, hosted the Commanding Officers of the ships in Melbournes Task Unit to a dinner on board, during which he ran through the procedures used for plane guard, expressed his concern for safety overall and related the events leading up to the Voyager tragedy. [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. [37] At the time of their arrival, the Sea Venoms were the only radar equipped and all-weather combat aircraft in the Southern Hemisphere. [126] Melbourne departed Singapore on 27 June and arrived in Sydney on 9 July, where the carrier underwent almost identical repairs at Cockatoo Island Dockyard as in 1964 (primarily the installation of a new bow section). Temporary repairs were affected at sea before Melbourne proceeded to Singapore that afternoon. Melbourne went on to visit ports in Ceylon, India, Singapore, the Philippines where she took part in the years SEATO exercise PONY EXPRESS; Hong Kong where she had to put to sea to avoid Typhoon Alice; and Papua New Guinea before returning home in June. [12][61] Aboard were the 64 aircraft of RAN squadrons 808, 816, and 817, as well as the racing yacht Samuel Pepys (named after the English naval administrator and diarist), which was a gift to the RAN Sailing Association from the Royal Navy. [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. 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. The second collision occurred in the early morning of 3 June 1969, when Melbourne also rammed the United States Navy (USN) destroyer USSFrank E. Evans in similar circumstances. 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. 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