HMAS Melbourne, 1969 to 1982

HMAS Melbourne, 1943 to 1968

After a lengthy refit and half life conversion, Melbourne left for the Far East in May 1969 equipped with Skyhawks of 805 Squadron, Trackers of 816 Squadron, and the Wessex of 817 Squadron. (Photo: Leaving for FESR, note LW02 radar moved down the mast, replaced by TACAW and ECM domes, extended catapult & removal of the twin bofors just fwd of the island.)

Misfortune occurred during the course of SEATO Exercise SEA SPIRIT when in the early hours of 3rd. June 1969, Melbourne and USS Frank E Evans collided in the South China Sea. The bow section of the Evans sank with the loss of 74 lives. As tragic as the event was, the crew of Melbourne were nonetheless officially recognised for their subsequent rescue actions by the US government.

Following repairs in Singapore to make her seaworthy (Photo: In King George VI dry dock), Melbourne returned to Australia for repairs which included a new prefabricated bow. She then continued to be occupied in exercises and training during 1969 and 1970, including SEATO exercises in the Far East in 1970. In May 1970 she visited Osaka, Japan, for the Australia National Day at the EXPO 70 exposition. The HMAS Melbourne band also participated in the Waltzing Matilda Review at the EXPO.

Following the visit to Osaka, Melbourne participated in exercises in the Far East with both Australian ships and ships of other navies. In December 1970 her three squadrons were disembarked and Melbourne commenced another major refit at Garden Island which lasted until August 1971. She then took on board 805, 816 and 817 Squadrons in September, and participated in joint exercises near Hawaii in November.

In January 1972 Melbourne departed Sydney in company with HMA Ships, Hobart, Duchess, Stalwart and Supply, forming Task Group 327.2 to Subic Bay in the Philippines, for exercise SEA HAWK and subsequent ANZUK exercises. The carrier returned to Sydney via Fremantle on 26th. April 1972 having steamed 15,933 miles since departure on 27th. January.

From June 1972 to January 1973, Melbourne was occupied in training and exercises, including Exercise RIMPAC 72 off Hawaii. She then proceeded to Yokosuka, Japan, on 3rd. October 1972. Exercise SEA SCORPION began on 15th. October off Corregidor and Melbourne did not return to Australia until 27th. November, via Manila and Singapore.

After a refit at Garden Island in July 1973, Melbourne, in company with HMA Ships Brisbane and Stuart, again visited Hawaii for Exercise RIMPAC 73. Further exercises and training periods followed during 1974, including Exercise KANGAROO ONE which involved sea, land and air forces from Australia, Britain, the United States and New Zealand. The ship briefly visited California in March 1974 calling at Long Beach and San Francisco. Relics of the Pacific War which had been presented to the Admiral Nimitz War Museum at Fredericksburg, Texas, by the Australian Government were offloaded at Long Beach. Cargo for Australia was loaded at both ports.

When Darwin, Northern Territory, was devastated by Cyclone Tracey on Christmas Day 1974, Melbourne sailed from Sydney the next day to assist with a large cargo of urgently-needed supplies. When Australia took delivery of the Westland Sea King helicopter in 1975, they were allocated to 817 Squadron aboard Melbourne, as well as being assigned to the land base at Nowra. (Photo: Sea kings on deck, note the new raydome aft of the funnel housing approach radar replacing 1955 vintage type 277).After another refit in 1975-76, 805, 816 and 817 Squadrons re-embarked, and Melbourne was involved in further exercises. Exercise Kangaroo II, in October 1976, saw Melbourne operating with the USS Enterprise.

Early in 1977, Melbourne collected 16 Grumman Trackers from the US, to replace ten of the aircraft lost in a hangar fire at Nowra the previous December. In May 1977, she sailed in company with the guided missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane and was joined by the New Zealand frigate, HMNZS Canterbury, bound for England to take part in the celebration of the Queens Silver Jubilee.

Later she remained in Australian waters, with two more periods in dock, one including a substantial refit. Melbourne continued to take part in exercises and occasional rescue tasks until 1981, when she put in to Sydney for maintenance. During this period it was decided to decommission her, and this occurred on 30 June 1982.

By then she had spent 62,036 hours underway and steamed 868,893 nautical miles or 1,579,804 kilometers, equivalent to 20 return trips to the moon. Melbourne lay at moorings on the reserve dolphins at Taronga, Sydney Harbour, awaiting disposal, and after sale to a private Australian company in June 1984 fell through, she was finally sold in February 1985, to China United Shipbuilding Company for $1.4 million. She was eventually broken up in Dalian, China.

HMAS Melbourne in 1969 with a tracker on the catapult and "a bone in her teeth".

A US private sector intelligence agency believes that the Chinese navy may be using an old aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne, to help develop its own carrier and boost Chinese military capability. Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting) based in Austin, Texas, said the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had acquired three different types of carrier to study for development of their own capability. One of them was the HMAS Melbourne.

Melbourne was sold to China for breaking up, and arrived at a Shanghai yard in 1985 according to the issue of Far Eastern Economic Review dated 20th. October, 1994, where she lay undisturbed except for regular visits by PLA engineers and may still be in existence. It is clear from an article entitled "The Aviation Dream of the Chinese People" that appeared in the July, 1994 issue of Shidian, a semi-official magazine of the China News Service, that PLA(N) officers are being trained in large ship handling courses and flight deck operations. Melbourne was finally moved to the northern port city of Dalian where she was broken up. There have been several reports of the Chinese reconfiguring a runway to resemble an aircraft carrier deck for flight deck landing training by PLA pilots. Additionally, in 1987 an F-8 Chinese fighter was launched from a steam catapult at the Lushun naval air base near Dalian according to the Far Eastern Economic Review.

On 13 January 2001, the online Australian magazine in Melbourne "The Age.com.au", indicated that China has been using the flight deck of the former Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne to train its pilots ahead of the launch of its first locally-made aircraft carrier. Quoting unnamed sources, the Hong Kong based independent Chinese language Ming Pao daily reported that the Chinese 4.8 billion yuan ($A892 million) aircraft carrier is slated to be in the water in 2003, although it will take another two years to have it fully ready for service. Satellite image of the reconstructed Melbourne flight deck attached to the end of a runway in northern China. The angled flight deck centerline is aligned with the main runway and aircraft were catapulted out over the salt pan and bay.