Crew members aboard HMAS Vampire. [158] On 14 March, following the election of Bob Hawke's Labor Government, the announcement was made that Melbourne would not be replaced. Voyagers role was that of plane guard, involving the rescue, if necessary, of aircrew personnel from the sea. Athol Townley MP, announced that fixed wing naval aviation would be disbanded in 1963 when Melbourne became due for a major refit. Melbourne 's aircraft were performing flying . 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. Recovery of life rafts from the Evans. [135] Melbourne remained off Darwin until 18 January 1975, acting as operational headquarters and a helicopter base. [158], Following the decision to replace Melbourne with HMS Invincible, the postponed refit was cancelled outright. Captain Willis hands over command of the Australian Flagship HMAS Melbourne to Captain McDonald, 24 May 1972. The Act applies to most records except: court records some records of Parliament some records of governors-general some records held by other national collecting institutions, such as the Australian War Memorial and the National Library of Australia You have a right of access to most other records in the open access period. Melbourne was the only Commonwealth naval vessel to sink two friendly warships in peacetime collisions. 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 In April 1946 the RAN received prime ministerial permission to investigate the establishment of a naval Fleet Air Arm along British lines. She was, however, involved in two major collisions with allied vessels; though Melbourne was not found to be the primary cause of either incident. [155] The Australian carrier was prepared for disposal, and was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 30 June 1982. [7], The Majestic experienced delays in its construction due to labour difficulties, late delivery of equipment, additional requirements for Australian operations and the prioritisation of the construction of merchant ships. The Navy stopped recording crew information in this way after 1956. [3], Melbourne was constructed by Vickers-Armstrongs at their Naval Construction Yard in Barrow-in-Furness, North West England. She joined Sydneys escort group for the final time early in June, and visited Malaysia later in the month before returning home. [147] During this cruise two Skyhawks were lost: on 2 and 21 October. 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. [105][106] As the carrier was optimised for anti-submarine warfare, there was little need for her at the start of the war. 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 Royal Australian Navy does not lack quality in its men. There was a moment of levity during the exercises when Melbourne fuelled from USS Ponchatoula and the American replenishment vessel demonstrated its method of passing the first line with a baseball and bat. Exercise SHOWPIECE in the South China Sea. The collision of HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Voyager remains the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) worst peacetime disaster. The refit included a communications upgrade and a new radar suite, consisting of both Dutch and American radars. [4] Work progressed on Majestic at a slower rate, as she was upgraded with the latest technology and equipment. HMA Ship List 1911-1939. 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. [72][73] After filming concluded, the carrier participated in a demonstration exercise off the coast of Sydney before embarking on a Far East Strategic Reserve deployment from March until May. [168] Melbourne was the largest warship any of the Chinese experts had seen, and they were surprised by the amount of equipment which was still in place. [82] The trials involved interactions between both ships, and when Melbourne performed night-flying exercises that evening, Voyager acted as the carrier's plane guard escort. In the early hours of 3 June 1969, in a manoeuvre almost identical to the near-miss with Larson a few days earlier, the destroyer USS Frank E Evans crossed Melbournes bows while attempting to move in the planeguard position, and was cut in two. 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. [5] Initial plans were for three carriers, with two active and a third in reserve, although funding cuts led to the purchase of only two carriers in June 1947: Majestic and sister ship HMS Terrible, for the combined cost of AU2.75million,[note 2] plus stores, fuel, and ammunition. She went on to visit Hong Kong in April before proceeding to Osaka, Japan, where members of the crew and the ships band contributed to Australian National Day on 8 May during Expo 70. The aircraft was seen to take off normally but quickly veered to the right and down into the water. [58][59], As Melbourne was the only ship of her size (both in dimensions and ship's company) in the RAN, the carrier underwent a regular rotation of commanding officers to give them experience. Photo courtesy Lieutenant Commander J Brown. [23] On 24 August 1973, Melbourne returned to Hawaii to participate in RIMPAC 73. 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. 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. [117], On the night of 23 June 1969, Melbourne and her escorts were involved in anti-submarine training exercises in the South China Sea. [73], The following year, 1960, was a bad year for the carrier's air group, with four Sea Venoms and two Gannets damaged in separate incidents aboard Melbourne. A New Guinean sailor from HMAS Tarangau spends some time on board HMAS Melbourne during one of the flagship's visits to New Guinea. 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. [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. [132] The carrier's engineers often resorted to making replacements from scratch. [54] Melbourne was unavailable to provide air cover for the RAN for up to four months in every year; this time was required for refits, refuelling, personnel leave, and non-carrier duties, such as the transportation of troops or aircraft. [151], The deal was put on hold in April 1982, following the outbreak of the Falklands War. The Australian carrier HMAS Melbourne (R21, left) and the British carrier HMS Bulwark (R08) pictured at anchor in Singapore during the SEATO exercise "Operation Oceanlink" on 4 May 1958.The photo was taken from the U.S. Navy carrier USS Philippine Sea (CVS-47).Note the 40 mm Bofors flak in the foreground and the Grumman S2F-1 Tracker planes of Anti-Submarine Squadron VS-21 on deck of the . 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. 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. [60] The majority of Melbourne's commanders later reached flag rank. 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. [1], Operations in 1972 commenced with a three-month deployment to Southeast Asia. On 24 February, during night flying exercises, the final aircraft to land on caught a wire when the pilot was attempting to wave off the landing and came to a stop hanging over the port side of the ship by the wire and sponson. 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. [28] The 1969 and 1971 refits did improve conditions, although there was little scope for upgrade, and the system was still inadequate: temperatures inside the ship continued to reach over 65C (149F), and on one occasion a hold reached 78C (172F). navy.gov.au HMAS Melbourne (II) HMAS Melbourne (R21) was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy. 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). South China Sea early morning 3 June 1969 aftermath scene of the HMAS Melbourne and USS Frank E Evans collision. [67][68] The carrier spent the rest of the year visiting Australian ports for open inspections by the public. She then returned to Singapore for the SEATO exercise OCEAN LINK. In her captain's first television and press interviews much was made of the revelation that Melbourne possessed the ability to operate her jet aircraft by night as well as by day. [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. She arrived back in Fremantle on 22 June. 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. 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]. Not all ledgers for 1950 to 1956 are individually listed on RecordSearch. 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. [83] Following a series of turns intended to reverse the courses of both ships beginning at 8:40pm, Voyager ended up to starboard of Melbourne. These generally involve requisitioned vessels. To use these records effectively you need: The best available source for crew details is the ships' ledgers. [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. [161][162] The Skyhawks remained in service as fleet support aircraft until 30 June 1984, while the Trackers were withdrawn from service on 31 August 1984 after being used as land-based maritime patrol aircraft. [77] The 10,000th catapult launch from Melbourne occurred in late 1962. [108] Seventh Fleet staff suggested in April 1967 that Melbourne deploy in the anti-submarine role, but nothing came of these talks. They contain the following information for each crew member: The ledgers for each ship have been bound as volumes for each quarter, or three-month period, that the ship was on active service. Corrective action from both ships was required to avoid a collision. 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. This was the eleventh JET exercise, the third to include Australia, and involved some 41 naval units from six countries. [155] She was towed to the mooring dolphins near Bradley's Head, where she remained until 1985. Note: This video is hosted on YouTube and has no audio. 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). Melbourne spent most of the first half of 1970 in foreign waters. Later that year she participated in Fleet Concentration Period off Jervis Bay in October, and visited New Zealand in November. [114][119] Seeing the destroyer take no action and on a course to place herself under Melbourne's bow, Stevenson ordered the carrier hard to port, signalling the turn by both radio and siren blasts. Seventy four of Evans crew lost their lives, and Melbourne sustained extensive damage to her bow section. 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. [20] The flight deck was angled 5.5 degrees left of the carrier's centreline, to allow for the simultaneous launch and recovery of aircraft. The ledger is recorded under the name of the parent vessel or shore base. However, a subsequent RAN court martial cleared him of any responsibility. 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. Melbourne and the FAA in general received a boost during the year with the decision to re-equip the FAA with Douglas A4G Skyhawk fighter bombers and Grumman S2E Tracker anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Many survivors were embarked in Melbourne while others were transported by other search and rescue vessels to HMAS Creswell at Jervis Bay. [83], Early in the evening, Voyager had no difficulties maintaining her position during the manoeuvres both ships performed. 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