USS Frank E. Evans in 1963. [39] The success of the trials, along with the discovery that Melbourne was able to operate both aircraft with relatively minor modification, led the Australian Government to approve the purchase of these aircraft. [38] Under consideration were British carrier HMSAlbion and a ship of the United States' Essex class. [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. [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. [150] In the late 1960s, the British made a similar offer, following a 1966 review indicating that HMSHermes was a superfluous naval unit. Since both ships had just completed refits, this was the first time they had been involved in close quarters manoeuvring for almost six months. Once this was completed, Melbourne was removed while the new bow was put in place in the drydock. Petty Officer Telegraphist. [30][137], On 5 December 1976, a fire deliberately lit at HMASAlbatross by a member of the Fleet Air Arm damaged or destroyed all but one of Australia's S-2 Trackers. Both men were transferred to Melbourne for medical attention before the more seriously injured of the two was transferred by air back to Singapore. [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. [50][51], Over the course of her career, over thirty aircraft were either lost or heavily damaged while operating from Melbourne. References to many ledgers appear at item level on RecordSearch. Leading Seaman Moore was assisting in securing a 40 foot workboat to the Lighthouse Jetty in Montagu Roads, and suffered fatal injuries when he was crushed between the boat and the jetty. 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. The missing vessel was located on the morning of 6 July some 60kms offshore, and the three occupants, suffering from exposure but otherwise in good health, were embarked in Melbourne by the carriers rubber Gemini dinghy. [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. The text of the telex message has been altered for readability. 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 . [17] Following this, she travelled to New Zealand, where she participated in exercises with HMNZS Royalist and visited several New Zealand ports. [70] Operations for the year concluded with participation in Exercise Astrolabe off Lord Howe Island, with ships from the RAN, Royal Navy, and Royal New Zealand Navy, before returning to Sydney on 13 December. 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. The aircrew was rescued but efforts to recover the Gannet were unsuccessful and it was eventually released overboard. She participated in Exercise JUC 76 in February before departing Sydney on 9 March for Asian waters. [79] In September, Melbourne reprised her role as the leader of Exercise Tuckerbox II. Melbourne spent most of the first half of 1970 in foreign waters. [114] Rear Admiral John Crabb, the Flag Officer Commanding Australian Fleet, was also embarked on the carrier. [166] The journey was delayed when the towing line began to part, requiring the carrier and tug to shelter in Queensland's Moreton Bay, on 30 April. Then we want you! [132] The carrier's engineers often resorted to making replacements from scratch. It was decided that two of the Majestic Class, HM Ships Terrible and Majestic, would be taken over by the RAN and named Sydney (III) and Melbourne (II) respectively. Salvaged by USS YLLC-5 ( United States Navy) and floating crane YD-220 and refloated the next day. In these cases, the remainder of the record will be made available. [9] Construction and fitting out did not finish until October 1955. [3] It is unclear whether the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) orchestrated the acquisition of Melbourne or simply took advantage of the situation; Rear Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong, a staff member at the National Defence College, has stated that the Navy was unaware of the purchase until Melbourne first arrived at Guangzhou. [124] After Evans' stern was evacuated, it was cast off, while the carrier moved away to avoid damage. On 26 November 1959, the Minister for Defence, the Hon. [105] Despite the carrier being the centrepiece of several plans to involve Australian forces in the Vietnam War, the escort runs were the extent of Melbourne's participation in the conflict, and the carrier remained outside the Market Time area while Sydney and her other escorts proceeded to Vng Tu. State. He would later finish fourth at the 1962 Commonwealth Games. [103] Following the repairs, Melbourne was involved in Strategic Reserve deployments and exercises in Southeast Asia from June until September 1964. Post-war technological developments saw a rapid evolution in naval aviation driven primarily by the advent of jet propulsion. [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. [146] On 8 September, Melbourne, accompanied by Perth, Derwent, Stalwart, Supply, and Otama deployed to the Indian Ocean as the Australian Squadron for a flag-showing cruise. A Sea Venom on one of Melbourne's flight deck lifts. [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. The three carriers astern of her are, from forward to rear, HMS Bulwark, HMAS Melbourne and HMS Victorious. 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. [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. Melbourne immediately commenced search and rescue operations and requested assistance from nearby NAS Nowra where search and rescue aircraft and boats were based. We pay our respects to the people, their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging. [77] Melbourne returned to Australia in June, and on 15 June led several ships in a ceremonial entry to Sydney Harbour to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the RAN. The National Archives of Australia has records about members of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) who served as crew aboard RAN ships. The refit included a communications upgrade and a new radar suite, consisting of both Dutch and American radars. She then returned to Singapore for the SEATO exercise OCEAN LINK. The first aircraft to land on HMAS Melbourne. The RAN lost only 2 Vessels during World War 1 and these were both Submarines, AE1 & AE2. [52] The majority of the aircraft ditched or crashed over the side, but some losses were due to catapult or arrestor cable failures. [4] Work progressed on Majestic at a slower rate, as she was upgraded with the latest technology and equipment. The Minister for Defence, the Hon Allen Fairhall, MP, addressing the audience at Melbourne's rededication ceremony on 14 February 1969. [42] A separate proposal to order 10 A-4G Skyhawks, a variant of the Skyhawk designed specifically for the RAN and optimised for air defence, was approved in 1965. [16] At launch, the carrier was 213.97 metres (702.0ft) long overall, but this was increased by 2.43 metres (8.0ft) during a refit in 1969. [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. [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. Right: Leading Musician Cross lets one the students try out the trombone. [17][69], From February until July 1958, Melbourne was deployed on a 25,000-nautical-mile (46,000km; 29,000mi) flag-showing cruise. Melbourne got a glimpse of her future when she conducted deck handling and catapult trials with a USN Grumman S2E Tracker in the Philippines in July, and participated in Exercise FOTEX 64 in Singapore later in the month. [17], Initially, two types of fixed-wing aircraft were operated from Melbourne. [84] It was initially assumed by Melbourne's bridge crew that Voyager was conducting a series of tight turns to lose speed before swinging behind Melbourne, but Voyager did not alter course again. 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. The two groups started SEALION independently before rendezvousing in the South China Sea on 11 May. Melbourne went on to visit Yokohama and Djakarta before arriving back in Fremantle on 24 June. The Flag Officer in Command of the Philippine Navy, Commodore Jose Francisco, who had recently been present at a United States Navy (USN) flying demonstration, noted that while the Americans could put more planes in the air, "the standard of airmanship displayed by Melbourne's pilots was much higher than that shown by the USN pilots, and that in precision and variety Melbourne's demonstration was a much more effective one.". [29] The next major refit ran from April 1975 to June 1976, and was intended to increase the operational lifespan of the carrier to at least 1985. [96] Robertson was posted to the training base HMASWatsona move that he and the Australian media saw as tantamount to a demotionbut resigned instead. HMAS Melbourne was originally one of six Majestic Class light fleet aircraft carriers ordered for the Royal Navy (RN) during World War II. Some groups of vessels, referred to as tenders, have been recorded together as one ledger. This was the eleventh JET exercise, the third to include Australia, and involved some 41 naval units from six countries. Melbourne returned to sea on 3 February 1969 for sea trials and workup exercises, and a rededication ceremony was conducted on board on 14 February. [17][71] On return to Sydney, Melbourne entered a short refit, which concluded on 13 October and was immediately followed by a visit to Port Phillip, where the carrier was displayed to Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force officer cadets before the carrier returned to Sydney. Sources are inconsistent regarding who attempted to purchase. Department of Defence users will not be able to view this video on the Defence Protected Network. A large proportion of this ships company had only recently joined the ship and some 25% were ordinary seamen, barely accustomed to wearing naval uniform. However, a subsequent RAN court martial cleared him of any responsibility. [30], Following Navy Help Darwin, Melbourne participated in RIMPAC 75, then returned to Sydney for a fourteen-month refit, which was delayed by industrial action at the dockyard. [87] The destroyer's forward section sank quickly, under the weight of the two 4.5-inch (110mm) gun turrets. The service life of the Sea Venoms and the Gannets, meanwhile, was extended past 1963. Period 1970-1979 You can also find information on crew members to the rank of Petty Officer by checking punishment returns for 1912 to 1959, series A7111. [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. 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