[83] At 8:52pm, Voyager was ordered to resume the plane guard station. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that the National Archives' website and collection contain the names, images and voices of people who have died. [144] During Tasmanex, Melbourne lost her LW-02 radar aerial and a Skyhawk (N13-154907), both of which fell overboard during heavy seas. 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. 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. The fleet conducted Exercise SUNDEX en route to Singapore, where they participated in Exercise FOTEX 59. [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. [84] Instead, Voyager first turned to starboard, away from Melbourne, then turned to port without warning. [38][40], As well as an operational aircraft carrier, Melbourne was Flagship of the RAN, a role she received almost immediately following her 1956 arrival in Australia, and fulfilled until her decommissioning in 1982. [83], Early in the evening, Voyager had no difficulties maintaining her position during the manoeuvres both ships performed. State. [147] During this cruise two Skyhawks were lost: on 2 and 21 October. [146] The carrier was in Sydney from mid-April until mid-August, during which the 25th anniversary of Melbourne's service in the RAN was celebrated on 15 August with a cocktail party aboard the carrier, popularly referred to as 'The Night of the Admirals'. 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 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. Department of Defence users will not be able to view this video on the Defence Protected Network. I am proud of them. 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. [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. She returned to sea on 11 May 1964 and commenced work-up exercises off the coast of New South Wales. Long shot of the Evans cut in two . On 5 March, while conducting an air defence exercise in the southern Coral Sea, one of the ships Wessex helicopters ditched into the water. [98][99] This is the only time in Australian history two Royal Commissions have been held for a single incident. She arrived back in Sydney on 1 August where she recommenced a routine program of exercises, training and maintenance. 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. [84] The procedure to accomplish this required Voyager to turn away from Melbourne in a large circle, cross behind the carrier, then take position off Melbourne's port side. 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. [134] The refit concluded in late 1971, with the carrier participating in the first RIMPAC exercise, RIMPAC 71, before the end of the year. She departed for the return journey to Australia on 31 October. She visited her namesake city in September ahead of her departure on 11 October for Hawaii to participate in the inaugural RIMPAC exercise. Rank/Class/Branch. [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. [88] The aft section did not begin sinking until half an hour after the collision, completely submerging just after midnight. The Minister for Defence, the Hon Allen Fairhall, MP, addressing the audience at Melbourne's rededication ceremony on 14 February 1969. The service life of the Sea Venoms and the Gannets, meanwhile, was extended past 1963. [17] During this cruise the carrier participated in four inter-fleet exercises and visited Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Pearl Harbor and Fiji. 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. You can also find information on crew members to the rank of Petty Officer by checking punishment returns for 1912 to 1959, series A7111. Petty Officer Telegraphist. On completion of these exercises she made port visits to both Wellington and Auckland before returning home to Sydney. There were 232 survivors. [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]. [30][31] The refit was lengthened by industrial action at the dockyard. [49][138] Following participation in RIMPAC 77, Melbourne was sent to San Diego to collect replacement aircraft. Hard-a starboard. [97] The Royal Commission and its aftermath were poorly handled, and following pressure from the public, media, and politicians, combined with revelations by Voyager's former executive officer that Stevens may have been unfit for command, a second Royal Commission was opened in 1967. She went on to visit Kobe, Manila and Singapore where she participated in Exercise BERSATU PADU involving defence units from Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore in May and June. [95] A Royal Commission into the events of the collision was held in 1964, and found that while Voyager's crew was primarily at fault for neglecting to maintain an effective lookout and awareness of the larger ship's location, Melbourne's bridge crew was also at fault, for failing to alert Voyager and not taking measures to avoid the collision. This cine film has been placed online as part of the Sea Power Centre - Australias ongoing archival digitisation program. 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. [114] Despite these warnings, a near-miss occurred in the early hours of 31 May when Larson turned towards the carrier after being ordered to the plane guard station. [23] The first of several annual three-month deployments to Southeast Asia as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve began in April, with Melbourne returning to Darwin at the end of June. This cine film has been placed online as part of the Sea Power Centre - Australias ongoing archival digitisation program. The Melbourne struck the Evans amidship cutting her in half. 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. [53], Melbourne was the third and final conventional aircraft carrier to operate with the RAN. She participated in the anti-submarine Exercise WINCHESTER off Jervis Bay in September/October, following which she visited her namesake city. [121] The board found Evans partially at fault for the collision, but also faulted Melbourne for not taking evasive action sooner, even though international sea regulations dictated that in the lead-up to a collision, the larger ship was required to maintain course and speed. On 28 October, 1955, the ship was officially named and commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Melbourne under the command of Captain Galfrey GO Gatacre, DSO, DSC, RAN, while Lady White, wife of Sir Thomas White, the then Australian High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, performed the naming ceremony. [164] Reports have circulated that either a replica of the flight deck, or the deck itself, was used for clandestine training of PLANAF pilots in carrier flight operations. [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. Once this was completed, Melbourne was removed while the new bow was put in place in the drydock. [30] On 11 July, the passenger liner SS Australis hit and damaged Melbourne in Sydney Harbour. [114] Evans was positioned on Melbourne's port bow, but began the manoeuvre by turning starboard, towards the carrier. [103] Following the repairs, Melbourne was involved in Strategic Reserve deployments and exercises in Southeast Asia from June until September 1964. [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. 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