October Newsletter
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The Navy League of Australia – Victoria Division Incorporating Tasmania NEWSLETTER October 2014 Volume2 No:70 OCTOBER NAVAL HISTORY “The maintenance of the maritime well-being of the nation” The month of October, in terms of Naval History, is indeed an is interesting period. Some of the more memorable events spread over the previous years are listed in the following:- principal objective OCTOBER 1805 of England’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar – the Two hundred & nine years ago on 21st October 1805, Admiral Lord Navy League of Australia Nelson defeated a combined Spanish-French Fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. OCTOBER 1944 The Bathurst Class Minesweeper-Corvette HMAS GEELONG, a sister ship to HMAS CASTLEMAINE was sunk in a collision with the US Tanker YORK off New Guinea on the 18th October 1944. Fortunately there was no loss of life in this incident. Patron: OCTOBER 1944 Governor of Victoria In October 1944 at the Battle of “Leyte Gulf” the following RAN ships engaged HMAS’s AUSTRALIA, SHROPSHIRE, ARUNTA, President: WARRAMUNGA, MANOORA, KANIMBLA, WESTRALIA, GASCOYNE & HDML No: 1074. LCDR Roger Blythman During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, a kamikaze Aichi 99 dive bomber RANR RFD RET’D crashed into the foremast of HMAS AUSTRALIA killing 30 Officers and ratings, including HMAS AUSTRALIA’S Commanding Officer Snr Vice President: Frank Captain E.F.V. Dechaineux. There were also 64 Officers and men McCarthy wounded in this attack including Commodore J.A. Collins RAN. The 25th October 1944 also marked the date of the Battle of Surigao Vice President Secretary: Ray Strait in which HMA Ships SHROPSHIRE & ARUNTA engaged. Gill Radar played an important part in this engagement, which would probably be the last of the Battle Line actions in the history of sea warfare. PP: Treasurer: Special Events: CMDR John Wilkins OAM RFD OCTOBER 1954 RANR The Daring Class Destroyer HMAS VENDETTA was launched on the 27th October 1954 at Williamstown Victoria. OCTOBER 1969 Fifteen year later and it was HMAS VENDETTA again the only Australian built ship of the RAN to serve on the gun line during the Vietnam War, as she fired her first shots in anger during that conflict on 3rd October 1969, now forty five years ago. 1 of 9 EVENTS AND OCCASIONS A big day on Sunday 19th October 2014, with the Seafarers Church Service 10; 30am at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, then the Navy Wreath laying service at 12:30pm at the Shrine of Remembrance, followed by events at Prince’s Pier Port Melbourne to mark the centenary of the departure of the first convoy of troop ships to depart from Victoria to the Middle East in October 1914. One of the leading troop ships was HMAT ORVIETO. Next stop Albany Western Australia. YACHT RACE FOR THE GEFFREY EVANS CUP As part of the Navy Leagues Navy Week 2014, the Leagues Victoria Division advises that the yacht race for the “Geoffrey Evans Trophy will take place on Saturday October 24th 2014. The race is conducted by the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown and hosted by the Navy League. Results of the race can be obtained via the internet on RYC Race Results. OUR STORY OF TASMANIA’S NAVAL HISTORY CONTINUES TASMANIA AND THE NAVY A joint survey of Australian waters was undertaken in the 1850s and 1860s with the colonies sharing costs with the British Admiralty. Tasmania, however, was unable to meet its part of the costs and withdrew from the survey after just one year, Major-General Sir William Jervois making special reference to Tasmania’s largely unsurveyed waters in his report on colonial defences in 1878. Tasmania never had its own dedicated colonial naval force but it did have a naval presence throughout the 1800s firstly through the schooner Eliza, manned by British marines in the 1830s and 1840s and used to prevent convicts from escaping by boat. A torpedo boat, designated TB1, arrived in Hobart in May 1884 to be operated by the Volunteer Engineer and Torpedo Corps. The 63 ft, 12 tonne boat was a major investment for Tasmania costing some £3,300, however, it was barely seaworthy and the volunteers lacked the technical expertise required to operate it. It leaked, the concussive effects of the engine caused rivets to spring apart and its first trials were not until five months after its arrival, and then only because two engineer officers from HMS Nelson were visiting the colony. It took the better part of half a day to get the boat off its slipway and steaming. Consequently TB1 was rarely used and when it was, it remained within the confines of the Derwent River. It had fallen into complete disuse by the turn of the century and was transferred to South Australia in 1905. Seven days after the granting of the Royal Assent to the Australian Navy on 10 July 1911, Tasmania was assigned its first permanent naval presence. Captain Walton Drake, RAN, was appointed as the state’s District Naval Officer (DNO) based in Hobart, while a Sub-District Naval Officer was appointed in Launceston. A plot of land was also purchased on the western bank of the Derwent River in 1911 for the purposes of establishing a naval depot. Construction began the following year. HMAS CANBERRA at the Hobart Regatta February 1934 2 of 9 AS IT WAS Once again we invite you to join us as we take a look a more recent naval history, at items that involved, or caught the eye of Navy League over the years on our “Keep Watch” brie. This time we go back 10 years as we browse through our records and reports of October 2004, we note that it was around this time we reported: SUBMARINE ACCIDENT A fire onboard a Canadian submarine on 5th October 2004, off the Irish Coast resulted in nine casualties one of which was fatal. The submarine HMCS CHICOUTIMI, is one of four sold by the Royal Navy to the Canadian Navy. They have been plagued by problems since being brought out of mothballs refurbished and handed over to the Canadians. Some of the problems included cracks in the diesel generator exhaust, hull and back- up valve. Rescue efforts by several British naval ships were made extremely difficult by very rough Atlantic weather, as the CHICOUTIMI drifted out of control. HMCS CHICOUTIMI, a Canadian Victoria Class diesel electric submarine, was formerly HMS UPHOLDER, name ship of her RN Class and four days into her maiden voyage as a Canadian boat. She was sailing from Britain to Halifax when it sent out distress calls. The Canadians selected the British Upholder Class submarines to replace their ageing Oberon class ships. A listing of the four ships follows together with details of the main characteristics of the Upholder Class Submarines and the Oberon Class, however, we should remember that any comparison of the two submarine types must be weighed against the years of technological differences. Therefore the Upholder Class reflects technology of the 1970’s and 1980’s whereas he Oberon Class dates back to the 1950’s and 1960’s. As such, the Upholders have more automation which has resulted in reduced crew numbers. HMCS VICTORIA FORMERLY HMS UNSEEN HMCS WINDSOR FORMERLY HMS UNICORN HMCS CORNERBROOK FORMERLY HMS URSULA HMCS CHICOUTIMI FORMERLY HMS UPHOLDER UPHOLDER CLASS OBERON CLASS DISPLACEMENT – DIVED 2455T 2410T LENGTH-FEET 231 295 SPEED-KNOTS-DIVED 20 17 DIVING DEPTH-FEET 700 550 CREW 49 67 TORPEDO TUBES-FORWARD 6 6 AUTOMATION EXTENSIVE MINIMAL RAN PATROL BOATS During the Prime Minister Mr. John Howard’s electioneering campaign, he announced that should his party be re-elected to power, he would be increasing the forthcoming patrol boat fleet by an additional two boats. His announcement as reported by the press advised that Australia’s fight against terrorism would be boosted by the $85 million acquisition of two new Navy Patrol Boats that would help protect valuable northwest shelf oil rigs. At the time of Mr. Howard’s announcement, he was in Western Australia at the Austal shipyards to inspect construction of the Armidale Class Patrol Boats. So it will indeed be of interest to see when and if the planned fleet of twelve Armidale Class Patrol boats increases to fourteen. Whilst on the subject of Patrol boats it was of further interest to note a letter from a reader in a recently published naval magazine. 3 of 9 AS IT WAS C’TND A brief extract of the reader’s letter to the magazine follows:- The Fremantle’s used to be based in North and the South (e.g. Bass Strait Patrols) early in their service, but all were sent north as more boats were needed to fulfill patrol requirements. It would be interesting to have more details by an independent expert on:- 1. The areas of Australia that need patrol boat coverage and desirable number of boats needed. 2. The abilities to upgrade the capabilities of the Armidale Class in times of conflict. 3. The need for a larger, second type of offshore patrol boat/ship for the rougher Bass Strait and Southern Ocean. --------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ Ken Crook has forwarded his most informative Shrine Report:- SHRINE REPORT SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 The Shrine will be the heart of the many Centenary celebrations around Victoria, commencing on August 4th this year: 100 years to the day after Great Britain declared war on Germany. On this day, there was a wreath laying ceremony at the Eternal Flame, the re-opening of the Visitor Centre on the completion of its refurbishment and the opening of the Centenary of ANZAC Travelling Exhibition – “Australia will be There: Victorians in the First World War (1914 – 1919)”.