Right: A Hawker De Havilland Sea Venom. Requirements. 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. She visited her namesake city in September ahead of her departure on 11 October for Hawaii to participate in the inaugural RIMPAC exercise. 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 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. On 28 April during flying operations in the Sulu Sea, one of Melbournes Sea Venoms crashed over the side when an arrestor wire failed on landing, and the aircraft did not regain enough airspeed to once again get airborne. Since both ships had just completed refits, this was the first time they had been involved in close quarters manoeuvring for almost six months. [110], In September 1967, Melbourne travelled to the United States to collect new aircraft: 14 Trackers and 10 Skyhawks. With 24 ships and submarines from five nations participating, OCEAN LINK was the largest SEATO exercise yet. [147] During this cruise two Skyhawks were lost: on 2 and 21 October. Corrective action from both ships was required to avoid a collision. Honour Roll OFFICERS AND MEN LOST IN HMAS SYDNEY (II) Name. [23] During this deployment, on 21 June 1981, Melbourne rescued 99 Vietnamese refugees from a disabled fishing vessel in the South China Sea. The exercise came to a temporary halt however, when a grenade accidentally exploded aboard USS Nicholas and seriously injured two sailors. On 15 August 1947 the Government approved the creation of the Naval (later Fleet) Air Arm. All of Melbournes available boats were ordered into the water while inflatable life rafts were deployed, scrambling nets prepared and other preparations made to receive and care for survivors. Building trust in the public record policy, Getting started with information management, Royal Australian Navy ship and crew records, the approximate service period of the individual, remarks about punishments or qualifications, any incidents occurring on board during tours of duty, the design, construction and maintenance of vessels, ships' logs from 1855 onwards, in a number of series, records on design, construction and maintenance (including. 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. The service life of the Sea Venoms and the Gannets, meanwhile, was extended past 1963. 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. Morris was an Australian record holder in the hammer throw, and had represented Australia at the 1956 Olympic Games and the 1958 Commonwealth Games. Thompson and Potts were both killed when their Sea Venom crashed into the sea in 1956. List of shipwrecks: 6 February 1969 Ship Country Description USS ATC-132-1 United States Navy The armoured troop carrier capsized off Vietnam. Melbourne was the only British Commonwealth naval vessel to sink two friendly warships in peacetime collisions. This event not only revived memories of the Voyager tragedy five years earlier, but also pre-empted another tragedy to come. She took part in the convoy defence exercise PASAD in the Tasman Sea in March 1960 before once again making a port visit to Hobart. Melbourne conducting flying operations with Westland Wessex anti-submarine warfare helicopters. 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. [166] The Australian government received a Telex on this day, reading:[note 4] .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}. Some groups of vessels, referred to as tenders, have been recorded together as one ledger. 74 American personnel died, and a joint USNRAN Board of Inquiry was held. [164] The carrier was not dismantled for many years; according to some rumours she was not completely broken up until 2002. Temporary repairs were affected at sea before Melbourne proceeded to Singapore that afternoon. She returned to Singapore in an attempt to clear the contamination before the upcoming SEATO exercise, SEA DEMON. [33] After docking at Garden Island in December, the carrier was accidentally flooded by an officer who was impatient to commence leave. [22] As time passed, the refits increased in duration or were replaced by major upgrades or overhauls. 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. [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. [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 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. HMA Ship List 1911-1939. 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. [163] Three days later, Melbourne ran aground while still in Moreton Bay. On completion of the exercise, Melbourne led the four nation fleet in ceremonial fleet entry into Sydney Harbour on 22 November. [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. 555 mi - Jacksonville, FL. [167] Melbourne arrived in China on 13 June. You can also find information on crew members to the rank of Petty Officer by checking punishment returns for 1912 to 1959, series A7111. 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). That evening Voyager closed Melbourne for the first time that day for transfer of mail by heaving line. Melbourne undergoing trials at Barrow-in-Furness, England 1956. The first aircraft to land on HMAS Melbourne. [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. [153] By August 1979, the decision was limited to three ships: a modified American Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship, an Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi-class carrier, and a Sea Control Ship design that later became the Spanish Navy's Principe de Asturias. ", before instructing the destroyer's Quartermaster to announce that a collision was imminent. Melbourne was released from the search later in the day. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, age, color, sex (including pregnancy . [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. 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. By the time she returned to sea for SEA DEMON, all nine of her Gannets were flying once again, however a defect in her B1 boiler once again forced her to return to Singapore and ended her involvement in phase one of the exercise. She departed Sydney to pick up the RANs new Skyhawks and Trackers in the USA on 20 September 1967. Pilot P Bainbridge and co-pilot D. Lawson all crew saved. [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. On 26 March 1913, HMAS Melbourne, Australia's first . The deployment was also notable as the only occasion on which both RAN aircraft carriers, Melbourne and Sydney, deployed overseas together. [127] It was learned during the inquiry that Evans' commanding officer was asleep in his quarters at the time of the incident, and charge of the vessel was held by Lieutenants Ronald Ramsey and James Hopson; the former had failed the qualification exam to stand watch, while the latter was at sea for the first time. [79] At the beginning of 1963, Melbourne again visited to the Royal Hobart Regatta, which was immediately followed by a deployment to the Strategic Reserve, including involvement in SEATO Exercise Sea Serpent. [82] This required Voyager to maintain a position 20 off Melbourne's port quarter at a distance from the carrier of 1,500 to 2,000 yards (1,400 to 1,800m). The Gannet fleet was grounded pending an investigation and was cleared to recommence flying operations on 12 February. He was 31 years of age. When the last ship had passed, tugs were secured and Melbourne berthed at Captain Cook Dock. [23] The number of aircraft gradually increased until 1972, when the air group peaked at 27 aircraft. [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. The crew formed the caption 20,000 LANDINGS on the flight deck to be photographed by helicopter. [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. She arrived back in Sydney on 1 August where she recommenced a routine program of exercises, training and maintenance. [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. [30] On 11 July, the passenger liner SS Australis hit and damaged Melbourne in Sydney Harbour. [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. [145], During February and March 1980, Melbourne participated in RIMPAC 80, as the flagship of Battle Group Two. Melbourne berthed in Hong Kong, April 1970. Gannet 858 precariously suspended over Melbourne's port side after the pilot had unsuccessfully attempted to 'wave off' his landing. The stern section remained afloat. [77] The carrier's annual refit began in Sydney on 1 October. [40][41], The RAN planned to acquire 14 Grumman S-2E Tracker anti-submarine aircraft, and modernise Melbourne to operate the aircraft. [142] Melbourne was docked in Garden Island's drydock on arrival, where she remained until January 1978. . Recovery of life rafts from the Evans. [8][9] Incorporation of new systems and enhancements caused the cost of the RAN carrier acquisition program to increase to AU8.3million. 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 [73] The rest of the year was spent visiting Australian and New Zealand ports. 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. HMAS Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). This is reflected in the title for each volume, for example, 'HMAS Rushcutter, quarter ended 30/6/1941'. [12] Two days later, the ship was renamed Melbourne by Lady White, the wife of Sir Thomas White, the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and recommissioned. 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