it seems they have a lot of fun in the australian navy

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=HyG9f3kMt4o

More friendly fire.:rotfl:

I was home on leave when that happened. I didn't give it much thought until our little destroyer was part of an Australian excercise, and Melbourne was task force leader. I was on the midwatch and I took a message to the bridge at around 0200, and was surprised to find the captain there at what I thought was a very odd time. Since the forward AC was out we were all allowed to wear undershirts, and the captain was sitting in his chair in skivvy shorts, t-shirt and his red ball-cap. He first asked if he could borrow my pen to sign the message, then he said he didn't have his glasses and asked me to read it to him. We had been riding the port flank, and the message was for us to transfer to point. This meant picking up speed and becoming lead ship in the group.

We then recieved a voice message that the entire group would make a 90-degree turn to starboard, on command from Melbourne. When the signal came every ship turned to starboard except Melbourne herself, which for reasons known only to themselves turned to port. Since we were about halfway from the port flank position to the point position this put us directly in her path. Since the ships were at least a mile apart we were in no real danger, but now I knew why the captain was on the bridge at that ungodly hour: he was thinking about what happened to the poor captain of the Frank E. Evans. The entire group was then ordered to stop and wait for our leader to turn around and catch up.

We never did find out why the carrier turned the wrong way, but someone said he had heard that they had three admirals on board as well as the captain, and someone wanted to override someone else's orders. Not knowing any better, that sounds like a reasonable answer to me.



"2000-ton battleship?" "Giant navy craft?"

"Hey, I don't write this stuff, I just read it on the telly!"

The USS Frank E Evans, wasn't the first DD Melbourne ran into either. Melbourne had a practise run on HMAS Voyage a few years earlier.:o

http://users.qld.chariot.net.au/~dia...1%20Killer.htm

Looking at the photo's the Evans faught back a bit more than the Voyager! My father was stationed at HMAS Albatross in Nowra when the Voyager got hit and was part of the recovery team that helped ferry survivors back from the fleet to the airbase at the time. He had left the Navy the year before the Evans incident.

He also told me of several planes that went over the side during his stints on Melbourne and of one deck hand who got decapitated by a snapped arresting wire!

CV's are dangerous place to work!

I'm just glad USS Brinkley Bass wasn't the third!:dead:

I know for a fact when the dock yard workers heard that HMAS Melbourne has rammed and sunk the Frank E Evans, that started work on a new bow section, as they had the templetes from when they did the Voyager repairs.

This is a day that will live in INFAMY !!!!

:D

Probably an event both countries would like to put way behind them. :p