She visited her namesake city in September ahead of her departure on 11 October for Hawaii to participate in the inaugural RIMPAC exercise. A replacement for Melbourne was under consideration as early as 1956, and the question was revisited on several occasions until the 1980s. [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]. [1][27] The flight deck was again reinforced and strengthened, and attempts were made to increase the effectiveness of the air conditioning system installed in 1969. Requirements. [38] Both options were turned down, and it was instead proposed to operate Melbourne as a helicopter carrier. On 10 April she visited Colombo before crossing the Indian Ocean and arriving in her first Australian port, Fremantle, on 23 April 1956. Skyhawks conduct a low flypast, 2 September 1971. [41] The acquisition of 18 Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers was also suggested, but these were dropped from the initial plan. [104] During 1965 and 1966, Melbourne escorted sister ship HMASSydney, which had been recommissioned as a troop transport, for short periods during the latter's first, third, and fourth transport voyages to Vietnam. For more information, you can ask us a question. Both the carrier and destroyer were 'darkened' with only navigational/operational lighting in use. The three person crew suffered only minor injuries. 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. List of shipwrecks: 6 February 1969 Ship Country Description USS ATC-132-1 United States Navy The armoured troop carrier capsized off Vietnam. Melbourne received a warm and colourful reception in Western Australia and there was great media interest in her arrival. The search was abandoned the following day. [44] These weapons were donated to the Australian War Memorial at Stavromenos, in Crete's Rethymno regional unit. On 5 July Melbourne, along with other RAN and RAAF units, conducted a search and rescue operation for a fishing boat, Fishing News, which had not returned to Sydney after putting to sea the previous morning. [23] A major refit scheduled to begin in late 1981 was postponed pending the decision on a replacement carrier. [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. She joined Sydneys escort group for the final time early in June, and visited Malaysia later in the month before returning home. [112] This deployment did not occur; the Skyhawk pilot training program was experiencing delays because US squadrons were being shipped training equipment and replacement parts in priority to the RAN, and sending qualified pilots overseas would have caused further holdups with the program, while also disrupting Melbourne's post-refit reactivation. [30] While moored in Sydney Harbour, on 24 July, Melbourne was struck by Japanese cargo ship Blue Andromeda. [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. On completion of the exercise, Melbourne led the four nation fleet in ceremonial fleet entry into Sydney Harbour on 22 November. [121] Melbourne deployed her boats, life rafts, and lifebuoys, before carefully manoeuvring alongside the stern section of Evans, where both ships' crews used mooring lines to lash the ships together. As the ship was never directly involved in a conflict, her weapons and embarked aircraft did not fire a shot in anger. 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. The two-carrier navy originally envisaged by the Naval Board was no longer feasible and HMAS Sydney (III) was successively relegated to a training vessel before being placed into reserve in 1958. She sailed from Sydney for her South East Asian deployment on 22 June which took her to New Guinea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Ledgers often include individual crew lists for each vessel. 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. Melbourne struck Voyager at the after end of her bridge, heeling her over to an angle of about 50 degrees. At the end of January 1959 Melbourne returned to her namesake city for the unique experience of filming scenes for the movie On The Beach. [85] At the same time, Stevens, having just become aware of the situation, gave the order "Full ahead both engines. HMAS Melbourne celebrates her 20,000th landing. Shift: Monday thru Friday 6:00pm-2:30am. Their actions and behaviour left nothing to be desired. [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. Note: This video is hosted on YouTube and has no audio. A veteran from the HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Voyager collision on February 10, 1964 that killed 82 people believes changes to floodlighting on the aircraft carrier caused Australia's worst peacetime . Right: Melbourne's damaged bow following her tragic collision with Voyager. On returning to Sydney in July she commenced a refit and leave period before sailing again for work-ups in September. [87] The destroyer's forward section sank quickly, under the weight of the two 4.5-inch (110mm) gun turrets. Operating from 1955 until 1982, she was the third and final conventional aircraft carrier to serve in the RAN. The Melbourne struck the Evans amidship cutting her in half. [121], Following the collision, Melbourne travelled to Singapore for temporary repairs to her bow, arriving on 6 June. The first aircraft to land on HMAS Melbourne. 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. 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. [19], The main modifications centred around the need to operate jet aircraft, which were larger and heavier than those propeller-driven aircraft that the carrier was originally designed for. [23] The number of aircraft gradually increased until 1972, when the air group peaked at 27 aircraft. HMAS Melbourne off the east coast of Australia on 6 May 1956, astern of HMAS Sydney, following her delivery voyage from Britain. A BritIsh Avro Vulcan flies over HMAS Melbourne during exercises in SE Asia. Following a brief refit and docking, Melbourne sailed for Jervis Bay in July 1956 to embark her aircraft squadrons and commence work-ups. [134] The refit concluded in late 1971, with the carrier participating in the first RIMPAC exercise, RIMPAC 71, before the end of the year. [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. [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. [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). [129] In a repeat of the aftermath of the Voyager collision, Melbourne's captain resigned amid accusations of scapegoating. [49] In October, Melbourne participated in Exercise Kangaroo II, before sailing to her namesake city for the carrier's 21st birthday celebrations, then returning to Sydney on 5 November. On 5 March, while conducting an air defence exercise in the southern Coral Sea, one of the ships Wessex helicopters ditched into the water. [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. The Gannet fleet was grounded pending an investigation and was cleared to recommence flying operations on 12 February. [155] The Australian carrier was prepared for disposal, and was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 30 June 1982. Once this was completed, Melbourne was removed while the new bow was put in place in the drydock. 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. navy.gov.au HMAS Melbourne (II) HMAS Melbourne (R21) was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy. [152] In June 1977, the Defence Force Development Committee approved an investigation into acquiring a STOVL/helicopter carrier. Vickers Armstrong Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness, England, Lady Anderson, wife of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Stanley Carmichael also lost his life in similar circumstances in 1959. [17] During this cruise the carrier participated in four inter-fleet exercises and visited Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Pearl Harbor and Fiji. [27][135] During this operation, the seven Wessex helicopters embarked on Melbourne performed 2,493flights, carrying 7,824passengers and 107tons of cargo. [77] The 10,000th catapult launch from Melbourne occurred in late 1962. She then returned to Singapore for the SEATO exercise OCEAN LINK. She departed for her annual South East Asian deployment on 3 March. [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 then sailed for Brisbane and the Hervey Bay area to conduct flying training. Melbourne and Voyager sailed from Jervis Bay early on Monday, 10 February, with the day being spent in the local exercise areas conducting a series of trials and exercises. 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. [35], During the 19671969 refit, thirteen Bofors were removed, leaving four twin and four single mountings. 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. 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. [1] Melbourne had been designed to operate in North Atlantic and Arctic climates, and the original ventilation systems were inappropriate for her primary operating climate, the tropics. 74 American personnel died, and a joint USNRAN Board of Inquiry was held. Naval units from Australia, the USA, the UK, New Zealand and Canada participated in the exercises which concluded on 18 November. When the last ship had passed, tugs were secured and Melbourne berthed at Captain Cook Dock. [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. 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