HMAS Melbourne 'apology'.

[troopie]

The Australian Govt. has 'sort of' apologized to Stevenson for being made a scapegoat over this affair. Great news, but it's a pitty it didn't come a year earlier.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-0...bourne/4413638

The look on the poor bloke's face at ~ 6:00 minutes brought a tear to my eye.

Note: Sincere apologies to the yanks for the "incompetence" remark, but please remember, this poor bloke has been brooding over and copping flak over this for 43 years!

Details of incident here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Melbourne_(R21)

[Sailor Steve]

I was in California awaiting my enlistment call-up when this was in the papers. I find this interesting:

These incidents, along with several minor collisions, shipboard accidents, and aircraft losses, led to the reputation that Melbourne was jinxed.

Sometime around May 1970 the destroyer I was with was assigned to a joint task force with Melbourne in command. I was assigned to the midwatch on a particular night, as junior duty radioman. Sometime early in the morning I took a message to the bridge that on their mark the group was to execute a ninety-degree turn to starboard. When I got to the bridge I was surprised to find the captain himself there, dressed only in skivvies (boxers and t-shirt), plus his ball cap with "USS Brinkley Bass" stitched on the front and "Captain" on the back. The reason for this was that the air conditioning was out in the forward part of the ship, and it was very hot, even at 0200 hours. Anyway, the crux of the story is that our captain was worried about a possible repeat of the previous incidents, and he was right. When the command came, the entire group turned to starboard, except for Melbourne herself, who made a turn to port, heading right for us. There was at least a half-mile of separation between us, so we had plenty of time to move out of the way, but it was still an experience to remember.

The captain who is the subject of this article was long gone by then, so this has nothing to do with competence or otherwise. I don't really believe in superstitions, nautical or otherwise, but I've always wondered about Melbourne's reputation as a 'hard luck" ship.

I fully agree that Captain Stevenson shouldn't have been blamed, but then again he was exonerated by a court-martial at the time. The American captain was also court-martialed along with his two culpable subordinates, and all three were found guilty.

[Jimbuna]

A 'Bitter Sweet' life experience indeed

TarJaks father was on the Melbourne iirc

Oops; Missing an 'n' in thread title, any mods care to correct?

I'm unable to, only Neal can Edit the title/header

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by troopie

Oops; Missing an 'n' in thread title, any mods care to correct?

My apologies but I've just realised I can edit said title.

Sorted.

[Cybermat47]

Hang on, so we had an aircraft carrier, then sold it, to the CHINESE, in the middle of THE COLD WAR!?

[troopie]

Wow, thanks for the insight Steve. It's incredible so many similar incidents could occur. Do you know if it was common amongst task-forces like this of the day?

I'm only a youngun I 'spose at about 34 so I certainly was not around in the day and have no connection to it all (aside from being in the Naval Reserve Cadets as a kid) but for some reason it's a bit of a hobby of mine to read up on the history of warships, particularly of the WWI + II era.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

The reason for this was that the air conditioning was out in the forward part of the ship, and it was very hot, even at 0200 hours.

Makes me Wonder:

Melbourne had been designed to operate in North Atlantic and Arctic climates, and the original ventilation systems were inappropriate for her primary operating climate, the tropics. The 1969 and 1971 refits did improve conditions, although there was little scope for upgrade, and the system was still inadequate: temperatures inside the ship continued to reach over 65 °C (149 °F), and on one occasion a hold reached 78 °C (172 °F).

Doesn't sound like she was much fun to serve on; I wonder how this would compare to other boats of the day?

Do you remember were the Melbourne was operating when your boat joined her?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by troopie

Do you remember were the Melbourne was operating when your boat joined her?

Not exactly. Our main duty was escort, lifeguard and fire support off Vietnam. Our "home away from home" was Subic Bay in the Philippines. I saw two US carriers, Ranger and Bon Homme Richard. They were the ones we escorted. I did go on board an Australian frigate as a guest of their radiomen, but I don't remember its name. I never saw Melbourne in port, and I don't know where she was based from. Our weeklong joint operation took place somewhere in the Philippine Sea.