By Elizabeth
Jess
Sid Harta
Publishers
Melbourne
Release date
1st February 2015
Of the 314
personnel aboard Voyager at the time of the collision, 14 officers and
67 sailors were killed, including Stevens and all but two of the bridge crew.[19] A civilian dockyard worker also lost
his life.[16] The wreck of the destroyer lies in 600
fathoms (1,100 m) of water, 20 nautical miles (37 km) from Point Perpendicular
on a bearing of 120°.[1]
On 10
February 1964, Voyager was performing trials off Jervis Bay, under the
command of Captain Duncan Stevens, following the Williamstown refit.[8] The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne,
under the command of Captain John Robertson, was also undergoing post-refit
trials off Jervis Bay.[8] The trials involved interactions between both ships, and when Melbourne
performed night flying exercises that evening, Voyager acted as the
carrier's plane guard escort.[8] This required Voyager to maintain a position 20° off Melbourne's
port quarter at a distance from the carrier of 1,500 to 2,000 yards (1,400 to
1,800 m).[9]
During the
early part of the evening, Voyager had no difficulties maintaining her
position during the manoeuvres both ships performed.[9] Following a series of turns intended to reverse the courses of both
ships beginning at 8:40 pm, Voyager ended up to starboard of Melbourne.[9] At 8:52 pm, Voyager was ordered to resume the plane guard
station.[10] The procedure to accomplish this required Voyager to turn away
from Melbourne in a large circle, cross the carrier's stern, then take
position off Melbourne's port side.[10] Instead, Voyager first turned to starboard, away from Melbourne,
then turned to port without warning.[10] It was initially assumed by Melbourne's bridge crew that Voyager
was conducting a series of tight turns to lose speed before swinging behind Melbourne,
but Voyager did not alter course again.[11]
At
8:55 pm, with Voyager still turning to port, Melbourne's
navigator ordered the carrier's engines to half astern speed, with Robertson
ordering an increase to full astern a few seconds later.[11] At the same time, Stevens, returning to Voyager's bridge from
the nearby chart table, gave the order "Full ahead both engines. Hard
a-starboard.", before instructing the destroyer's Quartermaster to
announce that a collision was imminent.[11] Both ships' measures were too late to avoid a collision; Melbourne
hit Voyager at 8:56 pm.[12]
Melbourne struck just aft of Voyager's
bridge structure, rolling the destroyer to starboard before cutting her in
half.[13] Voyager's forward boiler exploded, briefly setting fire to the
bow of the carrier before it was extinguished by seawater.[13] The destroyer's forward section sank quickly, due to the weight of the
two 4.5-inch (110 mm) gun turrets.[14] The aft section did not begin sinking until half an hour after the
collision, and did not completely submerge until just after midnight.[15] Messages were sent to the Fleet Headquarters in Sydney immediately
after the collision, although staff in Sydney initially underestimated the
extent of the damage to Voyager.[16] Melbourne launched her boats almost immediately after the
collision to recover survivors, and the carrier's wardroom and C Hangar were
prepared for casualties.[17] At 9:58 pm, Melbourne was informed that search-and-rescue
boats from HMAS Creswell,
helicopters from HMAS Albatross
(Naval Air Station Nowra), and five Ton class minesweepers had been despatched to assist
in the search.[18]
Of the 314
personnel aboard Voyager at the time of the collision, 14 officers and
67 sailors were killed, including Stevens and all but two of the bridge crew.[19] A civilian dockyard worker also lost his life.[16] The wreck of the destroyer lies in 600 fathoms (1,100 m) of water,
20 nautical miles (37 km) from Point Perpendicular
on a bearing of 120°.[1]
Investigation[edit]
A Royal Commission into the events of the
collision was held in 1964, and found that while Voyager was
primarily at fault for neglecting to maintain an effective lookout and
awareness of the larger ship's location, Melbourne's bridge crew was
also at fault for failing to alert Voyager and not taking measures to
avoid the collision.[20] The Royal Commission and its aftermath were poorly handled, and
following pressure from the public, media and politicians, combined with
revelations by Voyager's former executive officer that Stevens may have
been unfit for command, a second Royal Commission was opened in 1967.[21] This is the only time in Australian history that two Royal Commissions
have been held for a single incident.[22] The second commission found that Stevens was medically unfit for
command, and that some of the findings of the first Royal Commission were
therefore based on incorrect assumptions.[23]
Honours and memorials[edit]
Chief Petty
Officer Jonathan Rogers
was posthumously awarded the George Cross for his
actions during the sinking.[24] Recognising that he was too large to fit through the escape hatch, he
organised the evacuation of those who could escape, then led those stuck in the
compartment in prayers and hymns as they died.[24] Posthumous Albert Medals for
Lifesaving were awarded to Midshipman Kerry Marien and Electrical
Mechanic William Corden for their actions in saving other Voyager
personnel at the cost of their own lives.[25][26] The awards were listed in the 19 March 1965 issue of the London Gazette, along with one George Medal, five British Empire Medals for
Gallantry, and three Queen's
Commendations for Brave Conduct for Voyager personnel.[26]
Memorial
parks were established at Huskisson, New
South Wales and East Hills, New
South Wales.[1] The latter park became part of the suburb of Voyager Point,
New South Wales, which was originally an estate in East Hills
accommodating the spouses and children of RAN personnel. Memorials were also
erected at the RAN training establishment HMAS Cerberus
and the Devonport
Maritime Museum.[1] Wikipedia
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