HMAS ''Melbourne'' (R21) was a ''Majestic''-class light aircraft carrier operated by the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

(RAN) from 1955 until 1982, and was the third and final conventional

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

to serve in the RAN. ''Melbourne'' was the only Commonwealth naval vessel to sink two friendly warships in peacetime

collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great fo ...

s. ''Melbourne'' was laid down for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

as the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the ''Majestic'' class in April 1943, and was launched as HMS ''Majestic'' (R77) in February 1945. At the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, work on the ship was suspended until she was purchased by the RAN in 1947. At the time of purchase, it was decided to incorporate new aircraft carrier technologies into the design, making ''Melbourne'' the third ship to be constructed with an angled flight deck. Delays in construction and integrating the enhancements meant that the carrier was not commissioned until 1955. ''Melbourne'' never

fired a shot in anger {{Short pages monitor prevented a collision. The escorts were again warned about the dangers of operating near the carrier and informed of Stevenson's expectations, while the minimum distance between carrier and escorts was increased from . Evans collision

On the night of 2–3 June 1969, ''Melbourne'' and her escorts were involved in anti-submarine training exercises in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

.Hills, ''Muddied Waters'' 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.Smith and Lancaster, ''USS Frank E. Evans: Disaster in the South China Sea'', p. 1 ''Evans'' had performed the manoeuvre four times over the course of the night. ''Evans'' was positioned on ''Melbourne''s port bow, but began the manoeuvre by turning starboard, towards the carrier. A radio message was sent from ''Melbourne'' to ''Evans'' bridge and Combat Information Centre, warning the destroyer that she was on a collision course, which ''Evans'' acknowledged.Hall, ''HMAS Melbourne'', p. 178 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. At approximately the same time, ''Evans'' turned hard to starboard to avoid the approaching carrier.Sherbo, ''Death of a Destroyer'' It is uncertain which ship began to manoeuvre first, but each ship's bridge crew claimed that they were informed of the other ship's turn after they commenced their own. After having narrowly passed in front of ''Melbourne'', the turns quickly placed ''Evans'' back in the carrier's path. ''Melbourne'' hit ''Evans'' amidships at 3:15 am, cutting the destroyer in two.Frame, ''Pacific Partners'', p. 127 Seventy-four of the 273 personnel from ''Evans'' were killed in the collision, with the majority of these believed to have been asleep or trapped inside the bow section, which sank within minutes. ''Melbourne'' deployed her boats, life rafts, and lifebuoys, before carefully manoeuvring alongside the stern section of ''Evans'', where both ships' crews used mooring lines to lash the ships together. Sailors from ''Melbourne'' dived from the flight deck into the water to rescue overboard survivors close to the carrier, while the carrier's boats and helicopters collected those farther out. All of the survivors were located within 12 minutes of the collision and rescued before half an hour had passed, although the search continued for fifteen more hours. After ''Evans'' stern was evacuated, it was cast off, while the carrier moved away to avoid damage.Hall, ''HMAS Melbourne'', p. 185 The stern did not sink, and was later recovered, stripped of parts, and sunk for target practice. USS Frank E

Following the collision, ''Melbourne'' travelled to Singapore for temporary repairs to her bow, arriving on 6 June.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 312 ''Melbourne'' departed Singapore on 27 June and arrived in Sydney on 9 July, where the carrier underwent almost identical repairs at

Cockatoo Island Dockyard The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role ...

as in 1964 (primarily the installation of a new bow section). 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. A Joint RAN-USN

board of inquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal commission in that ...

was established to investigate the incident, and was in session over June and July 1969. 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. 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.Hall, ''HMAS Melbourne'', p. 200 Subsequent to the inquiry, the three USN officers and Stevenson were

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

led by their respective navies on charges of negligence, with the three USN officers found guilty and Stevenson 'Honourably Acquitted'.Frame, ''Pacific Partners'', p. 129 Despite the findings, Stevenson's next posting was as a minor flag officer's chief of staff, seen by him as a demotion in all but name. In a repeat of the aftermath of the ''Voyager'' collision, ''Melbourne''s captain resigned amid accusations of scapegoating.Frame, ''Pacific Partners'', pp. 130–1 In December 2012, Stevenson announced that he had received a letter from the

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

, apologising for his treatment by the RAN and the government of the day.

1970–1976

Carriers and escorts near Hawaii during RIMPAC 1972

During the 1970s and early 1980s, replacing parts became an increasing problem.Hall, ''HMAS Melbourne'', p. 12 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. The carrier's engineers often resorted to making replacements from scratch. The ship's catapult was replaced with parts from the decommissioned

HMCS Bonaventure HMCS ''Bonaventure'' was a , the third and last aircraft carrier in service with Canada's navy. The aircraft carrier was initially ordered for construction by Britain's Royal Navy as HMS ''Powerful'' during the Second World War. Following the en ...

in 1970. In 1970, ''Melbourne'' participated in three major inter-navy exercises: Sea Rover with SEATO forces in the South China Sea, Bersatu Padu with

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

forces off Malaysia, and Swan Lake with the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy off Western Australia. During this year, the carrier also visited Japan to participate in

Expo '70 The or Expo 70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

, and was hit by

Manly ferry Manly ferry services (numbered F1) operate on Sydney Harbour connecting the Sydney suburb of Manly with Circular Quay in the CBD a journey of seven nautical miles. History In 1853, Henry Gilbert Smith chartered the wooden paddle wheeler ' ...

South Steyne The SS ''South Steyne'' is a former Manly ferry on Sydney Harbour. She was the world's largest steam-powered passenger ferry and operated on the service from 1938 to 1974. Restored in the 1980s, she served as a restaurant ship in Newcastle i ...

'' while alongside at Garden Island, causing minor damage to both vessels. ''Melbourne'' was out of service for most of 1971 while she underwent refits, which concluded in early August.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 313 In mid-1971, the Australian military's Joint Planning Committee considered using ''Melbourne'' as a transport to help complete the withdrawal of the Australian Task Force from Vietnam before the end of 1971.Grey, ''Up Top'', pp. 96–8 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. The refit concluded in late 1971, with the carrier participating in the first

RIMPAC RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held ...

exercise, RIMPAC 71, before the end of the year. Operations in 1972 commenced with a three-month deployment to Southeast Asia. During this deployment, ''Melbourne'' led a fleet of 17 ships from the RAN, Royal Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, US Navy,

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...

, and

Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy ( Abrv: RTN, ทร.; th, กองทัพเรือไทย, ) is the naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known a ...

in Exercise Sea Hawk. This was followed by goodwill visits to numerous Southeast Asian ports, including Hong Kong,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Singapore, and

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

, before ''Melbourne'' returned to Sydney at the end of April. The carrier spent May performing exercises off the New South Wales coast, during which she was called on to rescue three fisherman who had been stranded at sea for the previous two days. In August, ''Melbourne'' sailed for Hawaii to participate in RIMPAC 72. At the conclusion of this exercise, ''Melbourne'' proceeded to Japan on a diplomatic visit, then sailed to the Philippines to exercise with SEATO ships. During this deployment, a fire ignited inside the ship's main switchboard. The carrier returned to Australia on 27 November after 101 days at sea, and underwent a seven-month refit. On 24 August 1973, ''Melbourne'' returned to Hawaii to participate in RIMPAC 73. She returned to Australia on 12 October, but sailed out ten days later to participate in Exercise Leadline off Malaysia, before reaching Sydney again in December. Final approach to HMAS Melbourne

''Melbourne'' began 1974 by transporting 120

Australian soldiers Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

to a temporary assignment with an American infantry battalion based in Hawaii. She then sailed to San Francisco to collect 12 new Chinook and five

UH-1 Iroquois The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility helicopter, utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Bell Huey family, Huey family, as we ...

helicopters for the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

, arriving in Australia with her cargo in April. In June, the carrier took part in

Exercise Kangaroo Exercise Kangaroo was a joint warfare exercise that was held by the Australian Defence Force in the 1970s and 1980s. The first iteration of Exercise Kangaroo took place in 1974. The military units involved included the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbo ...

in the Coral Sea, before returning to Sydney in July. On 11 July, the passenger liner SS ''Australis'' hit and damaged ''Melbourne'' in Sydney Harbour. In November, the carrier took part in disaster relief exercises. These were prophetic, as on the night of 24–25 December 1974,

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city i ...

destroyed the city of Darwin. ''Melbourne''s ship's company was recalled immediately from leave, the ship was loaded with supplies, and the carrier departed Sydney on 26 December in the company of .Lind, ''The Royal Australian Navy – Historic Naval Events Year by Year'', p. 289; Hobbs, ''HMAS Melbourne (II) – 25 Years On'', pp. 8–9 ''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 Operation Navy Help Darwin was a disaster relief operation initiated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) following the destruction of Darwin, Northern Territory by Cyclone Tracy during the night of 24–25 December 1974. 13 ships, 11 aircraft, an ...

. ''Melbourne'' remained off Darwin until 18 January 1975, acting as operational headquarters and a helicopter base. During this operation, the seven

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

helicopters embarked on ''Melbourne'' performed 2,493 flights, carrying 7,824 passengers and 107 tons of cargo. 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. While moored in Sydney Harbour, on 24 July, ''Melbourne'' was struck by Japanese cargo ship ''Blue Andromeda''.Hall, ''HMAS Melbourne'', p. 218 While working up following the refit, ''Melbourne'' and provided assistance to MV ''Miss Chief'' off the coast of Bundaberg, Queensland on 16 August 1976.Lind, ''The Royal Australian Navy – Historic Naval Events Year by Year'', p. 291 In October, ''Melbourne'' participated in Exercise Kangaroo II, before sailing to her namesake city for the carrier's 21st birthday celebrations, then returning to Sydney on 5 November.

1976–1983

On 5 December 1976, a fire deliberately lit at by a member of the Fleet Air Arm damaged or destroyed all but one of Australia's

S-2 Tracker The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventiona ...

s.Hall, ''HMAS Melbourne'', p. 19 Following participation in RIMPAC 77, ''Melbourne'' was sent to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

to collect replacement aircraft.Gillett, ''HMAS Melbourne – 25 Years'', p. 83 Arriving back in Sydney on 5 April, the carrier was sent on a five-month deployment to the United Kingdom on 28 April, accompanied by and .Stevens et al., ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 231 En route, ''Melbourne'' lost a Sea King in the Indian Ocean on 9 May, with the aircrew recovered by ''Brisbane''. A Tracker from ''Melbourne'' located the disabled Dutch vessel ''Impala Princess'' in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

on 25 May and directed a French destroyer to assist.Lind, ''The Royal Australian Navy – Historic Naval Events Year by Year'', p. 293 Two

Bofors AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms concern BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Located in ...

naval guns were deposited by ''Melbourne'' at

Souda Bay Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greece, Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akr ...

, Crete on 2 June, marking the first visit of an Australian warship to Crete since June 1941. These weapons were donated to the Australian War Memorial at Stavromenos, in Crete's Rethymno regional unit. The highlight of the deployment saw the three ships represent Australia and New Zealand at the Silver Jubilee Naval Review on 28 June 1977. A two-seat

Harrier jump jet The Harrier, informally referred to as the Harrier jump jet, is a family of jet-powered attack aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations (V/STOL). Named after a bird of prey, it was originally developed by British ma ...

demonstrator undertook a series of trial takeoffs and landings aboard ''Melbourne'' on 30 June: a trial organised as part of the project overseeing the ship's potential replacement. 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. ''Melbourne'' was docked in Garden Island's drydock on arrival, where she remained until January 1978. HMAS Melbourne (R21) at the 1977 Spihead Fleet Review

HMAS Melbourne (R21) at the 1977 Spihead Fleet Review

At the end of March 1978, ''Melbourne'' left Sydney for RIMPAC 78.Gillett, ''HMAS Melbourne – 25 Years'', p. 89 During this exercise, ''Melbourne'' acquired the nickname 'Little M' after working with 'Big E' —the smallest and largest aircraft carriers (respectively) in operation at the time. On return in July, the carrier entered a major refit, which continued until 3 August 1979. During this refit, on 3 March, a boiler explosion caused minor damage to the carrier. The remainder of the year involved participation in three exercises, Tasmanex off Wellington, New Zealand, Sea Eagle I in the Tasman Sea, and Kangaroo III in the Coral Sea. During Tasmanex, ''Melbourne'' lost her LW-02 radar aerial and a Skyhawk (N13-154907), both of which fell overboard during heavy seas. During February and March 1980, ''Melbourne'' participated in RIMPAC 80, as the flagship of Battle Group Two. This was immediately followed by a visit to the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

in early April.Gillett, ''HMAS Melbourne – 25 Years'', p. 95 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'. On 18 August, ''Melbourne'' sailed for Fremantle to participate in Exercise Sandgroper 80. On 8 September, ''Melbourne'', accompanied by , , , , and deployed to the Indian Ocean as the Australian Squadron for a flag-showing cruise.Lind, ''The Royal Australian Navy – Historic Naval Events Year by Year'', p. 297 During this cruise two Skyhawks were lost: on 2 and 21 October. On 24 October, a Tracker from ''Melbourne'' observed Soviet warships ''Storozhevoy'' and ''Ivan Rogov'' shadowing the squadron. The squadron's return in November 1980 concluded the largest and longest RAN deployment since World War II. Following her return, the carrier spent six months in Australian waters, before a two-month deployment to Southeast Asia. During this deployment, on 21 June 1981, ''Melbourne'' rescued 99 Vietnamese refugees from a disabled fishing vessel in the

. The carrier's deployments for the second half of the year consisted of two exercises, Sea Hawk and Kangaroo 81. A major refit scheduled to begin in late 1981 was postponed pending the decision on a replacement carrier. After docking at Garden Island in December, the carrier was accidentally flooded by an officer who was impatient to commence leave.Hall, ''HMAS Melbourne'', p. 15 In his haste to shut down the carrier, he failed to deactivate the water pumps, and over 180 tons of fresh water were pumped in before a maintenance party discovered the flooding the next day. ''Melbourne'' remained in dock at the start of 1982, and did not leave before the decision regarding her replacement was made.

Replacement

A replacement for ''Melbourne'' was under consideration as early as 1956, and the question was revisited on several occasions until the 1980s. In every situation, a new aircraft carrier was turned down due to the increases in manpower and operating costs required to operate the ship when compared to ''Melbourne''. Between 1956 and 1959, the RAN considered acquiring a larger carrier to replace ''Melbourne'', as the Fleet Air Arm was becoming obsolete and the RAN did not believe the ship could be modified to operate newer, heavier aircraft. Under consideration were British carrier and a ship of the United States' ''Essex'' class. Both options were turned down, and it was instead proposed to operate ''Melbourne'' as a helicopter carrier. In 1960, the United States Navy offered an ''Essex''-class carrier to the Australian government, in the interest of improving relations between the two nations and their navies.Frame, ''Pacific Partners'', p. 101 The only cost to the RAN would have been the modifications required to make the carrier operationally compatible with the RAN's primarily British-designed fleet. In the late 1960s, the British made a similar offer, following a 1966 review indicating that was a superfluous naval unit.Hobbs, ''HMAS Melbourne (II) – 25 Years On'', p. 9 In 1968, ''Hermes'' took part in a combined exercise with the RAN, during which the carrier was visited by RAN and Australian government officials, while RAN Skyhawks and Trackers practised landings on the larger carrier. Both offers were turned down due to operating and manpower costs. The need to secure a replacement for ''Melbourne'' grew as the carrier's age caused the operating costs to increase to over A$25 million per year. In June 1977, the Defence Force Development Committee approved an investigation into acquiring a

STOVL A short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL aircraft) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is able to take off from a short runway (or take off vertically if it does not have a heavy payload) and land vertically (i.e. with no runway). The ...

/helicopter carrier. 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 The Sea Control Ship (SCS) was a small aircraft carrier developed and conceptualized by the United States Navy under Chief of Naval Operations Elmo Zumwalt during the 1970s. Currently the term refers to naval vessels that can perform similar d ...

design that later became the Spanish Navy's ''Principe de Asturias''.Stevens et al., ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 226 By February 1981, the ''Iwo Jima'' class was the preferred option.Stevens et al., ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 227

HMS ''Invincible''

Plans to replace ''Melbourne'' changed in July 1981; the British 1981 Defence White Paper had marked the recently commissioned as surplus to requirements, and she was offered to the RAN for the 'bargain' price of GB£175 million (A$285 million). The ''Invincible'' class had been considered and discarded during the investigation, but the decreased price and the fact the already-constructed carrier would be ready for RAN service in 1983 prompted the Australian government to announce its intention to purchase ''Invincible'' on 25 February 1982 and close the carrier acquisition program. The government also announced that the ship would be renamed and operated as a helicopter carrier, and that a decision on the purchase of fixed wing aircraft would be made after acquisition. The deal was put on hold in April 1982, following the outbreak of the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. The performance of ''Invincible'' and other Royal Navy aircraft carriers during the conflict showed that the report which suggested reductions in the size of Britain's carrier fleet—with the follow-on effect of making ''Invincible'' available for sale—was flawed, and both sides withdrew from the deal in July. The RAN was again offered HMS ''Hermes'', and again declined due to the carrier's age and manpower requirements. The Australian government began to reconsider the previous contenders for replacement, as well as considering requesting the United Kingdom or United States to build a simple carrier capable of operating

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twinjet, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, ...

strike fighters, but the issue was suspended at the commencement of the 1983 Australian Federal Election.Wright, ''Australian Carrier Decisions'', p. 173 On 14 March, following the election of Bob Hawke's Labor Government, the announcement was made that ''Melbourne'' would not be replaced.

Decommissioning and fate

Following the decision to replace ''Melbourne'' with HMS ''Invincible'', the postponed refit was cancelled outright. The Australian carrier was prepared for disposal, and was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 30 June 1982. She was towed to the mooring dolphins near

Bradley's Head Bradleys Head is a headland protruding from the north shore of Sydney Harbour, within the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is named after the First Fleet naval officer William Bradley. The original Aboriginal ...

, where she remained until 1985. ''Melbourne'' was capable of being reactivated as a helicopter-equipped anti-submarine warfare carrier within 26 weeks, but was never required to do so. A Sydney-based group proposed in 1984 to purchase ''Melbourne'' and operate her as a floating casino moored in international waters off

Eden, New South Wales Eden is a coastal town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is south of the state capital Sydney and is the most southerly town in New South Wales, located between Nullica Bay to the south and Calle Calle Bay, the ...

, but nothing came of this.Lind, ''The Royal Australian Navy – Historic Naval Events Year by Year'', p. 301 ''Melbourne''s air wing was disbanded at HMAS ''Albatross'' on 2 July 1982, with the transfer of 805 Squadron's Skyhawks to 724 Squadron and 816 Squadron being absorbed into 851 Squadron.''851 Squadron'', Sea Power CentreWilson, ''Phantom, Hornet and Skyhawk in Australian Service'', pp. 171–2 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. The carrier was initially sold for breaking up as

scrap metal Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

for A$1.7 million, although the sale fell through in June 1984. She was sold again in February 1985 to the China United Shipbuilding Company for A$1.4 million, with the intention that she be towed to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and broken up for scrap. Prior to the ship's departure for China, the RAN stripped ''Melbourne'' of all electronic equipment and weapons, and welded her

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

s into a fixed position so that she could not be reactivated. Her steam catapult, arresting equipment and mirror landing system were not removed.Hemmingsen, ''PLAN for action'', p. 15 At this time, few western experts expected that the Chinese government would attempt to develop aircraft carriers in the future.Hemmingsen, ''PLAN for action'', p. 14 The carrier departed

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 27 April 1985, heading for

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, under the tow of tug ''De Ping''. The journey was delayed when the towing line began to part, requiring the carrier and tug to shelter in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

, on 30 April.Lind, ''The Royal Australian Navy – Historic Naval Events Year by Year'', p. 304 The towing gear broke a day later, requiring a second tug to secure the carrier while repairs were made to ''De Ping''. Three days later, ''Melbourne'' ran aground while still in Moreton Bay. ''Melbourne'' arrived in China on 13 June. The Australian government received a

Telex The telex network is a station-to-station switched network of teleprinters similar to a telephone network, using telegraph-grade connecting circuits for two-way text-based messages. Telex was a major method of sending written messages electroni ...

on this day, reading: Naval Chapel GI Mel-Syd

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.Storey and Ji, ''China's aircraft carrier ambitions'', p. 79 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. ''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. The PLAN subsequently arranged for the ship's flight deck and all the equipment associated with flying operations to be removed so that they could be studied in depth. Reports have circulated that either a replica of the flight deck, or the deck itself, was used for clandestine training of

PLANAF The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF; ) is the naval aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army Navy. Overview Historically, the PLANAF's main role has been to provide the navy's warships with air defense coverage. Part of ...

pilots in carrier flight operations. It has also been claimed that the Royal Australian Navy received and "politely rejected" a request from the PLAN for blueprints of the ship's steam catapult. The carrier was not dismantled for many years; according to some rumours she was not completely broken up until 2002. A 2012 article in ''

Jane's Navy International Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informat ...

'' stated that the large quantity of equipment recovered from ''Melbourne'' "undoubtedly helped" Admiral

Liu Huaqing Liu Huaqing (; 1 October 1916 – 14 January 2011) was Chinese revolutionary and an admiral of the People's Liberation Army Navy, who served as the third Commander-in-Chief of the Navy from 1982 through 1988. He is considered to have greatly co ...

secure the Chinese government's support for his proposal to initiate an aircraft carrier development programme. ''Melbourne''s service is commemorated with a stained-glass window at the Garden Island Naval Chapel. One of the ship's anchors is incorporated into a memorial to naval aviation at

Nowra, New South Wales Nowra is a city in the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated popula ...

.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 91 Another anchor and the starboard side

ship's bell A ship's bell is a bell on a ship that is used for the indication of time as well as other traditional functions. The bell itself is usually made of brass or bronze, and normally has the ship's name engraved or cast on it. Strikes Timing of s ...

are on display at the RAN Heritage Centre at Garden Island. Memorabilia from ''Melbournes voyages with the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

embarked, and examples of all the types of aircraft deployed on ''Melbourne'', are on permanent static display in the

Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintin ...

at HMAS ''Albatross''. Following an overhaul of the RAN

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s system completed in 2010, ''Melbourne'' was retroactively awarded the honour "Malaysia 1965–66" for her service during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation.Royal Australian Navy, ''Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours''Royal Australian Navy, ''Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours''

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

; Books * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ; Articles * * * * * * * * * ; Websites * * * * *

External links

HMAS Melbourne Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melbourne (R21) Majestic-class aircraft carriers of the Royal Australian Navy Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1945 ships Cold War aircraft carriers of Australia