HMAS Melbourne (R21)

At the time of purchase, it was decided to incorporate new aircraft carrier technologies into the design, making Melbourne the third [ambiguous] ship to be constructed with an angled flight deck.

The second collision occurred in the early morning of 3 June 1969, when Melbourne also rammed the United States Navy (USN) destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in similar circumstances.

[18] These included an angled flight deck, steam catapult and a mirror landing aid, making Melbourne the third aircraft carrier (following HMS Ark Royal and USS Forrestal) to be constructed with these features, instead of having them added later.

[5] Flight direction radar was included, making Melbourne the only military airfield in the Australasian region at the time capable of operating aircraft at night and in poor weather.

[32] A refit scheduled to begin in late 1981 was postponed in September until a decision regarding the new carrier was made, then cancelled in January 1982, after the announcement that the RAN would be acquiring HMS Invincible.

[19] At Melbourne's commissioning, the standard air group consisted of eight Sea Venoms and two squadrons of eight Gannets, with two Bristol Sycamore search-and-rescue helicopters added shortly after the carrier entered service.

[39] A reduction of embarked plane numbers to four Sea Venoms and six Gannets, along with regular rotation and careful use of the aircraft, extended their service life until the mid-1960s, while the size of the air group was maintained by carrying up to ten Wessex helicopters.

[36][39] The decision to retire the fixed-wing component of the Fleet Air Arm was rescinded in 1963, and on 10 November 1964, a AU£212 million increase in defence spending included the purchase of new aircraft for Melbourne.

[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.

[61][63] Melbourne sailed east via the Great Australian Bight, meeting sister ship HMAS Sydney near Kangaroo Island a week later.

[61] After visiting Melbourne and Jervis Bay, where the aircraft were offloaded and sent to Naval Air Station HMAS Albatross, the carrier concluded her maiden voyage in Sydney on 10 May.

[65] Melbourne spent from September to November in Southeast Asian waters, during which she participated in Exercise Albatross and received an official visit by Philippines president Ramon Magsaysay.

[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.

[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] 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.

[93] During this deployment, the carrier visited Subic Bay, where the RAN performed flight deck trials with S-2 Tracker anti-submarine aircraft and A-4 Skyhawk attack fighters.

[114] During Sea Spirit, Melbourne was assigned five escorts: US Ships Everett F. Larson, Frank E. Evans, and James E. Kyes, HMNZS Blackpool, and HMS Cleopatra.

[114] Stevenson held a dinner for the five escort captains at the start of the exercise, during which he recounted the events of the Melbourne–Voyager collision, emphasised the need for caution when operating near the carrier, and provided written instructions on how to avoid such a situation developing again.

[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.

[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.

[126] Melbourne departed Singapore on 27 June and arrived in Sydney on 9 July, where the carrier underwent almost identical repairs at Cockatoo Island Dockyard as in 1964 (primarily the installation of a new bow section).

[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.

[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.

[134] While the Army supported this proposal, the Navy successfully argued against its implementation, claiming that transporting troops and cargo would be misusing Australia's only active aircraft carrier, and would prevent Melbourne from participating in several major multi-national exercises.

[1] This was followed by goodwill visits to numerous Southeast Asian ports, including Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, and Surabaya, before Melbourne returned to Sydney at the end of April.

[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.

[155] The government also announced that the ship would be renamed HMAS Australia and operated as a helicopter carrier, and that a decision on the purchase of fixed wing aircraft would be made after acquisition.

[166] The Australian government received a Telex on this day, reading:[note 4] Please be advised that HMAS Melbourne arrived at Port Huangpu, intact and safely afloat, proud and majestic.

She has been innocent, never once bowed to the natural or human force, in spite of the heavy storm and the talked about jinx.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.

[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.

A ship's badge. A naval crown sits on top of a black scroll with "MELBOURNE" written in gold. This is atop a yellow, rope-patterned ring, in which the head and torso of a kangaroo, holding a crown, is depicted. Below the ring are a stone axe and a nulla nulla sitting on top of a boomerang. At the bottom of the badge is a black scroll with "VIRES ACQUIRIT EUNDO" written.
Aerial photograph taken from directly overhead of a small aircraft carrier, while she is berthed alongside a wharf. Nine aircraft are parked in a three-by-three pattern at the carrier's stern, and personnel are positioned to spell out the word "Aloha" when seen from above.
Aerial photograph of Melbourne , showing the angled flight deck.
A jet aircraft with a twin tail arrangement sitting on the flight deck of an aircraft carriers. Cables trailing from underneath the aircraft indicate that it has just landed.
A de Havilland Sea Venom, with arrestor gear still connected, has just landed on Melbourne
Aerial view of an aircraft carrier and a frigate sailing in close formation. Three propeller aircraft are lined up on the deck of the carrier, while a fourth has just been launched from the catapult.
Melbourne refuelling HMAS Quickmatch while conducting flying operations
Photograph of an aircraft carrier from behind. Numerous aircraft with their wings folded are sitting on the flight deck. A second aircraft carrier is in the background, leading the first.
HMA Ships Melbourne (foreground) and Sydney (background) on Melbourne ' s delivery voyage to Australia. Sea Venoms are stored on the forward section of the carrier's flight deck, while Gannets are on the aft section.
Aerial view of an aircraft carrier travelling at speed. Multiple personnel and aircraft are on the flight deck.
HMAS Melbourne underway in August 1956, with Gannet aircraft on the flight deck
An aircraft carrier sailing in close formation with two destroyers, one on each side.
Melbourne underway with Daring -class destroyers Vendetta (left) and Voyager in 1959
An aircraft carrier underway at sea. The bow of the aircraft carrier has been torn off, and the surrounding area is damaged and scorched.
Melbourne en route to Sydney, immediately after the collision. The damage to the bow can be seen.
A small aircraft carrier is sailing towards the frame, with five helicopters in a line on the carrier's deck. A sixth helicopter hovers in the foreground
Melbourne with five Wessex helicopters on her flight deck and another flying overheard
Animation of a carrier and a destroyer. The carrier is travelling in a straight, downward-sloped line across the frame. The destroyer starts near the bottom of the frame, turns in a clockwise arc to travel up the frame past the oncoming carrier, then turns sharply back into the carrier's path.
The paths taken by Melbourne and USS Frank E. Evans in the minutes leading up to the collision
The stern of a destroyer, floating in calm water. The bow has been removed completely. Two intact warships are close by, one to the right of frame, the other behind and partially obscured by the floating stern, and two helicopters are flying overhead.
The stern section of USS Frank E. Evans on the morning after the collision. USS Everett F. Larson (right) is moving in to salvage the remains of the abandoned destroyer.
Warships sailing in a line on the open ocean. A small warship leads the line, followed by two aircraft carriers and a replenishment vessel. Other warships sailing in the same direction are in the background.
Warships underway near Hawaii during the RIMPAC 72 exercise. Identifiable ships are the Canadian destroyer HMCS Gatineau , followed by Melbourne and the United States aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga .
Photograph of the interior of an aircraft cockpit, taken from behind the pilot, who is sitting on the left hand side. An aircraft carrier is visible through the left-hand pane of the cockpit windows.
Melbourne as seen from the cockpit of an approaching Grumman S-2G Tracker
Colour photo of an aircraft carrier underway. Black-uniformed personnel line the perimeter of the flight deck, and a large number of aircraft with wings folded over sit on the deck.
Melbourne departing San Diego in 1977 after collecting the RAN's replacement S-2 Trackers.
Colour photo of a small aircraft carrier, taken from an elevated position. The carrier is sitting bow on, with one of her anchor chains deployed.
Melbourne at Spithead for the Jubilee Naval Review
Side view of a small aircraft carrier with a ski-jump ramp underway
An agreement was reached for Australia to purchase HMS Invincible , with delivery planned for 1983, until the Falklands War led to the deal being terminated.
Two tall stained glass windows. The left window shows an aircraft carrier about to launch an aircraft, while the right depicts two cruisers and an aircraft carrier at sea. A memorial plaque sits between the windows.
Memorial windows for the first three HMA Ships Sydney (right) and the carrier HMAS Melbourne (left)