Feb-Mar-Apr, May-June-July 1973
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THE NAVY The magazine of the Navy League of Australia Registered lor posting as a periodical — Category A Vol 35 FEBRUARY-MARCH-APRIL, 1973 No! CONTENTS Page Page Powar at tha Centre in Canada's National Defence Headquarters ... 23 Transformed Defence Structure 2 Periscope on Australia 27 Book Review 8 An Underwater Service for all 31 Charting the Seal of tha World 12 Nautical Notes from all Compass Points — 35 A Maritime Strategy for Australia? 16 Matra — technically advanced weapon 40 Reorganisation of the Australian Sea Cadet Corps News 45 Defence Group of Departments 18 PIUS SUNDRY STORIES AND PHOTOGRAPHS The views expressed in articles appearing <n this publication arc those ol the authors concerned They do not necessarily represent the views ol the editor, the Navy League, or ollicial opinions or policy A1 cowMf Bnianca should be directed to Die Editor. Boi C17S. Clarence Street Poet Office. Sydney. NSW. 2000. Australia Published by the Navy League of Australia. Box 1719. GPO, Sydney. NSW, 2001; Phone: 2411008 ADVERTISING AND PUBLICATION: PERCIVAL PUBLISHING CO PTY LTD STONIY Muaoumc tocuuoc B*tS6A*: PtlrrM HOBART 862 Elilabeth St Greenan Publications 17Currie St 7? tagle SI 194 St George s Ice l*2CollmsSt Waterloo PtyLId Adelaide SOOO Brisbane 4000 Penh. 6000 Hobart 7000 NSW 2017 374 LittleCollmsSt Phone SI622S Phone 31 2S3I Phone 22 4072 Phone 34 4098 Phone 699 2600 Phone 67 1334 THE NAVY LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA PATRON: The Governor-Genera' Hon Secretary: Miss E C Shorrocks. 528 Collins Hon Socrotarr Mrs V M Slide. 12 Allen Street. Street. Melbourne. 3000 Fannie Bay. NT. 5790 It's got everything! FEDOUt COUNC* tautti Australian Division PtnHint Commander F. G. Ewans. MBE. VRD. Patron: His Excellency, the Governor ol South Patron: His Excellency, the Governor ol Queens- RANVR. Australia land I he ()c£ I2>0 clcctro copicr ha\ pot cicruhinj! \ou single >>r multiple copies, whichever \ou choosc and it Vica-Preeidont Captain L F. Vickridge. OBE. VRD. Praalient T. Francis Matters. Esq President Surgeon Commander A H Robertson. need in .in I lectro copicr It will ci»p\ from .ilmo>t RANR Hon Secretary: Miss Penny Wardle. Box 1529M. features an exclusive huilt in paper dehumidificr which RANVR Secretary: Vacant GPO. Adelaide. 5001 .inxihinj! hooks. items. newspaper clipping .uul eliminates .inv pussihilitv of the electro paper Hon Secretary: Colonel P V 0 Fleming. ED. 39 ihe usual things like Idlers, reports, manuscripts, even ahsorhint! moisture even in hich humiditv conditions Pinecroft Street. Camp Hill. Queensland. 4152 Patron: Vice-Admiral Sir Guy Wyatt. KBE. CB if written with pencil. cra\on or ball point. >ou pel pood copies ever, time Pair—i Hts Excellency, the Governor ol New President Commander J Robb. RN (Ret d) Ihe Oce 1250 features eas\ roll loadini:. trims p.iper to Before vou huv .i copier pel the facts about the Oce South Wales President: Commande^Ta Howse. VRD. RANVR Hon Secretary: Lieut D J Heath. 3 Wmmarieigh si/e. uses Oce electro paper (it's the best. \ct costs no Preetdent Commander L MackayOuise. RD. Hon Secretary: Commander D M Blake. RD. Street. Taroona. 7006 Phone vour nearest ( roshv Office and pet vour RANR RANVR. 12 Darrr.ody Street. Weetangera. ACT. more), makes a clean, clear cop\ everv 5 seconds. copv of the colour brochure pivinp further details Secretory. Lieut Cmdr A. A. Andrews. MBE. RAN 2614 Patron: His Excellency, the Governor ol Western (Ret'd). 28 Royal Street. Chatswood. 2067 Australia. Victorian OMeion Northern Territory Division Prnldent Captain L. S W Vickridge. OBE. VRD. Nmt His Excellency, the Governor of Victoria Patron: His Honour the Administrator RANR PillllliiL Commander F. G Evans. MBE. VRD. President: Lieut Cmdr J. J RavenscroM. VRD. Hon Socretary: K M Johnson. Esq. Box 578. PO. RANVR RANVR Fremantle. 6160 CROSBY SENSITIZING AUSTRALIAN SEA CADET COUNCIL Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Adelaide Perth Hobart r of Naval Wwawi and Cadets: Captain D J Martin. RAN. Representatives ol each Division of the Navy League. Canberra Chairman. Representative Irom TS Sydney. Snapper Island 439-5811 36-0644 62-0671 42 4907 21-2481 34-2111 95-0345 Staff OfftoerSoa Cadets: Lt Cmdr E D Sand berg. RAN Merchant Shipping Representative Federal President and Vice-President ol the Navy League ry: It Cmdr A A Andrews. MBE. RAN (Ret'd) February/March/April, 1973 THE NAVY Page One 1 The report was a lucid, well RATIONALISATION POWER AT THE CENTRE presented document which, In 1968. the Services lost further however, suffered one overwhelming ground with the build up of the POWER AT THE CENTRE IN Slowly but surely, the centre has fault, it went too far. authority and scope of the Central Planning Staff. The post of Deputy grown in strength at the expense of It proposed the complete the three Service Wings, but without Chief of Staff in each of the three functionalisation of the Defence Services was established which serious diminution in Service loyalty hierarchy, stripping the individual or morale. meant that the Service Boards each TRANSFORMED DEFENCE STRUCTURE Service Ministers of their Service lost one of their members. While the ENTER MR HEALEY responsibilities and replacing these Chiefs of Staff retained their own None supposed the Thorneycroft with special functional jobs — like briefing staffs, these were shorn of (At plans for merging the Australian defence departments into the one reforms would be the end of the administration or equipment or most of their power. This, once story. If any doubts on this did exist | The Services were at once Department of Defence appear to be nearing fruition, it was considered that personne again, had passed to the centre. readers may care to hear the United Kingdom story of defence rationalisation- at the time, they must have been a)armed by what looked like a frontal And so it went on. A further major unification, upon which it is rumoured that Australia's defence will be swiftly resolved by the general attack upon their independent election in 1964 which returned the status step taken by Healey was the modelled.) first Labour Government for 13 establishment of a committee GROWING CENTRALISM years, and saw Mr Denis Healey. referred to as the Headquarters It is just ten years since Britain's then Defence Minister Healey. not quite Organisation Committee, which Written exclusively for The clever, energetic and an apostle of sure what to do with this contentious included not only civil servants and Defence Minister, Peter Thorneycroft, rose in the Navy by Henry Stanhopi United States Defence Secretary document, did what any other senior officers, but also two Defence Correspondent The Robert McNamara. installed in House of Commons to announce plans for the minister would have done — he set outsiders. It began its deliberations Times. London Thorneycroft's place at the Defence most radical reshaping of the country's defence up a committee. The Committee, at a time when Healey was Ministry. which included representatives of administration this century. concerned about the size of the the three Services, quietly forgot all defence structure and it sat for two the more radical proposals Pentagon" The existing Air Ministry years examining a wide range of contained in the Geraghty Report. options for Rationalisation. building which, with its myriad But it did make one step forward in windows, resembles a thick slab of the interests of co-ordination by Three areas studied were of currant cake, was to house the new monolith. proposing a new post, that of Chief particular importance. One was the An attempt to start calling the Adviser Personnel and Logistics position of the single Service under- place THE QUADRAGON never really (CAPL). a four-star officer who would secretaries. The Committee finally e be responsible for personnel and recommended that these should caught on — which was perhaps a good thing. logistics across the board. The job disappear altogether. Two junior exists today and is one of the most ministers of similar rank, but with SERVICE CO-OPERATION powerful offices in the Ministry. functional, across the board Looking back, these changes now seem much less revolutionary. More The CAPL post was announced by responsibilities should take their surprising perhaps is the time it took the government in the white paper of place. Britain to appreciate the need for 1967. In the following year the The second area to be cons.dered them. Services lost their own second was the future of the Service Boards. Factors contributing to slow permanent Under-Secretaries in the The Committee decided that these evolution rather than sudden Civil Service. Instead of the should remain. It thought that as the metamorphosis included traditional Permanent Under Secretary (PUS) policy decisions would be made at Service reluctance to contemplate The Rt Hon Denis Healey. MBE, MP. controlling three second PUSs. he the centre anyway, there was a the winds of change until they were He joined the Army in the Second W orld now had only two under him. one for strong argument for retaining a blowing so fiercely they could no War and became a Msjor in the Royal administration, the other for committee to sit behind the Chief of longer be resisted. On tht other Engineers, serving in North Africa and equipment. Staff of each of the three services. hand, the plans did owe almost Italy. In October. 1964. Mr Healey was At the same time the Service everything to the far-sightedness of appointed Secretary of State for Ministers were downgraded yet again CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF Mr Peter Thorneycroft. Born in 1909. be the then Chief of the Defence Staff. Defence, a post be held while Labour was to the rank of Parliamentary Under Finally, there was the position of was educated at Kton and the Royal Lord Mountbatten and the two in office until the general election in Secretary, below two new posts, the the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).