Royal Australian Navy Majestic-class aircraft carrier
HMAS "Sydney" (R17/A214/P214/L134) was a light aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was built for the Royal Navy and was launched as HMS "Terrible" (93) in 1944, but was not completed before the end of World War II. The carrier was sold to Australia in 1947, completed, and commissioned into the RAN as "Sydney" in 1948.
"Sydney" was the first of three conventional aircraft carriers to serve in the RAN, and operated as the navy's flagship during the early part of her career. From late 1951 to early 1952, she operated off the coast of Korea during the Korean War, making her the first carrier owned by a Commonwealth Dominion, and the only carrier in the RAN, to see wartime service. Retasked as a training vessel following the 1955 arrival of her modernised sister ship, , "Sydney" remained in service until 1958, when she was placed in reserve as surplus to requirements.
The need for a sealift capability saw the ship modified for service as a fast troop transport, and recommissioned in 1962. "Sydney" was initially used for training and a single supply run in support of Malaysia's defence policy against Indonesia, but in 1965, she sailed on the first voyage to Vũng Tàu, transporting soldiers and equipment to serve in the Vietnam War. 25 voyages to Vietnam were made between 1965 and 1972, earning the ship the nickname "Vung Tau Ferry".
"Sydney" was decommissioned in 1973, and was not replaced. Despite several plans to preserve all or part of the ship as a maritime museum, tourist attraction, or car park, the carrier was sold to a South Korean steel mill for scrapping in 1975.
Design.
"Sydney" was one of six light fleet carriers; a modified version of the carrier, incorporating improvements in flight deck design and habitability. These two classes of carriers were intended to be 'disposable warships': they were to be operated during World War II and scrapped at the end of hostilities or within three years of entering service. "Sydney" was the second ship of the class to enter service, following Canadian aircraft carrier .
The carrier had a standard displacement of 15,740 tons, and a deep displacement of 19,550 tons. Her length was between perpendiculars and at her longest point, with a beam of and a draught of . "Sydney" was fitted with four Admiralty 3-drum boilers, which provided steam to Parsons single reduction geared turbines; these supplied to the two propeller shafts, and allowed the ship to reach . The average size of the ship's company in peacetime was 1,100, but could be increased to 1,300 for wartime deployments. Refitting the ship to serve as a transport reduced the standard displacement to 14,380 tons and the ship's company to a core of 544, which was supplemented by trainees and personnel from the Royal Australian Navy Reserve when required.
The British Admiralty predicted that all "Majestic"-class carriers would require upgrades to their aircraft lifts and arrester gear in the early 1950s, to operate the faster and heavier carrier aircraft under development. Originally, the RAN wanted to upgrade "Sydney" to the same or similar standard as sister ship , after the second carrier was delivered. The installation of an angled flight deck and mirror landing aid, would have allowed "Sydney" to operate modern jet aircraft. However, financial and manpower restrictions led to the cancellation of this program.
Armament, sensors, and aircraft.
"Sydney" was initially armed with thirty Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns: eighteen single mountings and six twin mountings. During her refit as a troop transport, the carrier's armament was reduced to four single Bofors.
The radar suite included two Type 277Q height-finding sets, one Type 293M surface search set, one Type 960/281BQ long-range air warning set, and one Type 961 air search set.
As an aircraft carrier, "Sydney" operated with the RAN Fleet Air Arm's 20th and 21st Carrier Air Groups (CAGs), which were assigned alternately to the carrier. The former was made up of 805 and 816 Squadrons, while the latter was made up of 808 and 817 Squadrons. Twenty-four aircraft, split evenly between Hawker Sea Fury fighters and Fairey Firefly attack aircraft, were normally carried. Two Supermarine Sea Otter amphibious aircraft were carried for rescue duties (but were never required for this purpose); they were not attached to any squadron, but operated as the 'Ship's Flight'. The amphibians were removed from the ship at the start of her Korean War deployment, and were replaced by a helicopter. During the carrier's Korean War deployment, 805 Squadron was added to the 21st CAG to form a 38-strong wartime air group.
While undergoing conversion into a troop transport, the ability to operate aircraft was removed from "Sydney". However, on seven of the troopship's twenty-five voyages to Vietnam, she carried a flight of four Westland Wessex helicopters, sourced from either 725 or 817 Squadron, for anti-submarine surveillance.
Construction and acquisition.
The ship was laid down by HM Dockyard Devonport in England as HMS "Terrible" on 19 April 1943, with the Viscountess Astor presiding over the ceremony. She was the only aircraft carrier of the "Colossus" or "Majestic" classes to be constructed in a 'royal dockyard': a dockyard owned and operated by the Royal Navy. She was launched on 30 September 1944 by the wife of British politician Duncan Sandys. Work on the ship continued until the end of World War II, when the Admiralty ordered the suspension of all warship construction.
A post-war review by the Australian government's Defence Committee recommended that the RAN be restructured around a task force incorporating multiple aircraft carriers. Initial plans were for three carriers, with two active and a third in reserve at any given time, although funding cuts led to the purchase of only two carriers in June 1947; "Terrible" and sister ship "Majestic", for the combined cost of AU£2.75 million, plus stores, fuel, and ammunition. As "Terrible" was fitted out as a flagship and was the closer of the two ships to completion, construction was finished without major modification. Although "Terrible" was due for completion on 24 June 1948, a skilled labour shortage affected the installation of the ship's boilers, causing the Admiralty to revise the delivery date to October 1948.
A commissioning crew for the aircraft carrier was raised in Australia from the ship's company of the decommissioned cruiser , which departed from Sydney aboard in June 1948. Ex-Royal Navy sailors were used to fill out the carrier's complement. "Terrible" was handed over to the RAN on 16 December 1948, and was commissioned at noon as HMAS "Sydney". One of the reasons behind the choice in name was so AU£426,000 raised by the HMAS "Sydney" Replacement Fund after the loss of the light cruiser HMAS "Sydney" in 1941 could be accessed. "Sydney" was the last vessel to be commissioned into the RAN as 'His' Majesty's Australian Ship: as after the death of King George VI on 6 February 1952 and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, all RAN ships became 'Her' Majesty's.
Operational history.
1949–1951.
Although commissioned in mid-December 1948, "Sydney" did not enter service until 5 February 1949, as work was still being completed. On 25 December 1948, while still fitting out in Devonport, a helicopter from carrying Santa Claus became the first aircraft to land on "Sydney"'s flight deck. The ship's sea trials and post-commissioning workup were not without event: in early December 1948, a 771 Naval Air Squadron de Havilland Mosquito crashed while helping "Sydney" calibrate her radar suite, killing both British aircrew, and a RAN pilot undergoing landing qualifications aboard on 17 March 1949 crashed while attempting to land: none were killed, but the pilot's Fairey Firefly and four others in the deck park were destroyed.
The carrier sailed from Devonport on 12 April 1949, carrying the 20th CAG. "Sydney" arrived at Jervis Bay on 25 May, where the aircraft of the 20th CAG and training equipment were offloaded for transport to the new naval air station, , before the carrier proceeded to her namesake city. "Sydney" arrived in Sydney on 2 June, and took over as Flagship of the Australian Fleet from on 25 August. 20th CAG was reembarked during August, and "Sydney" exercised in Australian and New Guinea waters until late November. From January to April 1950, the carrier continued training exercises and visited ports in south-east Australia and New Zealand, and on 7 June, she departed for England to collect the 21st CAG. The 21st CAG embarked in October, and the carrier returned to Australia in December. Before "Sydney" departed in late October, the British Admiralty suggested that she be deployed to the Korean War as relief for and her worn-out catapult, but this was withdrawn because of the plan's drawbacks.
On 29 January 1951, "Sydney" was part of an eighteen-ship fleet present in Sydney Harbour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Australia's Federation. Following this, the carrier joined a multinational training exercise in south-east Australian waters, then visited Hobart for the Royal Hobart Regatta. During the exercise, a Sea Fury accidentally fired four practice rockets into the superstructure of the New Zealand flagship, : although an inquiry concluded that the pilot had unintentionally pressed the fire button, it was later found that certain signal frequencies transmitted by "Sydney"'s radio aerials could trigger a Fury's firing circuits. "Sydney" was presented with the Gloucester Cup in April 1951, recognising her as the most efficient ship in the RAN for 1950. The two CAGs were switched over in April, and on 3 May, a Sea Fury crashed during a rocket-assisted take off; the pilot became the carrier's first fatality.
Korean War (1951–1952).
In March 1951, the First Sea Lord requested that "Sydney" be deployed to Korea while was refitted in Australia, to maintain a Commonwealth carrier presence. This was agreed to, and a 38-strong wartime CAG was formed on 14 May by incorporating the Sea Furies of 805 Squadron into the 21st CAG. Because RAN Fireflies were optimised for anti-submarine warfare, and consequently not fitted with cannon, cannon-equipped RN aircraft were loaned for the duration of "Sydney"'s deployment. After completing pre-departure exercises, during which several aircraft were destroyed in non-fatal, weather-induced deck crashes, "Sydney" and the destroyer sailed for Korea on 31 August. While en route, the carrier's aircraft were used for a fly-past demonstration over Rabaul on 6 September, following civil unrest. On her arrival, "Sydney" became the first aircraft carrier owned by a Commonwealth dominion to see wartime service.
"Sydney" was attached to the United States Navy (USN) Seventh Fleet and assigned to Task Element 95.11, which operated primarily off the western coast of Korea. The carrier was sent on nine or ten-day patrols in the operational area, with nine-day replenishment periods in Sasebo, Nagasaki or Kure, Hiroshima between each; to maintain coverage, "Sydney" alternated with a USN carrier (initially , then from December with ). RAN aircraft were mainly used for air strikes against North Korean units and supply lines; secondary duties including reconnaissance, bombardment spotting, combat air patrols, and anti-submarine patrols. During her deployment, the carrier operated an unarmed USN Sikorsky Dragonfly (designation UP28, which acquired the nickname "Uncle Peter") in the search-and-rescue and plane guard roles. This was the first helicopter to operate from an Australian warship, and the first USN equipment used by the RAN. The success of helicopter operations convinced the RAN to acquire three Bristol Sycamores; the first helicopter squadron in Australian military service.
"Sydney"'s first patrol commenced on 4 October, with two days spent providing air support of efforts to push the front line away from the Han River. "Sydney" was then briefly repositioned off the east coast, where her aircraft flew strike missions near Wonsan. After returning to the east coast, "Sydney" set a record on 11 October for light carrier operations: her aircraft flew 89 sorties during the day, with 31 aircraft aloft at one point. Following her first patrol, the carrier sailed to Sasebo to resupply, but on 14 October, all ships were ordered to sea to avoid Typhoon Ruth. Although the order to clear the anchorage was given that morning, the number of ships present meant "Sydney" did not leave until late in the day, and sailed during the worst part of the storm. A Firefly, a motor dinghy, and a forklift were lost overboard, six other aircraft parked on the deck were destroyed, and the carrier experienced extreme winds—the wind recorder broke after registering