HMAS Sydney (R17)

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HMAS Sydney (R17)
HMAS Sydney (R17)
Overview
Type Aircraft carrier
Shipyard

HM Dockyard Devonport

Keel laying April 19, 1943
Launch September 30, 1944
Namesake Sydney
1. Period of service flag
period of service

December 16, 1948 - November 12, 1973

Whereabouts scrapped
Technical specifications
displacement

15,740  ts

length

211.8 m

width

24.4 m

Draft

7.6 m

crew

1,300

drive

Steam turbines with 42,000 shaft horsepower, two shafts

speed

24 knots

motto

"Thorough and Ready"

The HMAS Sydney (R17) , originally HMS Terrible (R93) , was a light aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy . She was built in Great Britain from 1943 as the second Majestic class ship for the Royal Navy , but construction was interrupted at the end of the war. The completion of the carrier was resumed in 1947, and in 1948 the ship, now named HMAS Sydney, began its service with the Australian Navy. She served in the RAN until 1973, the last eleven years of her service time she was used as a fast transport ship.

technology

The hull of the Sydney was 192 meters long and 14.4 meters wide at the waterline, the draft was 7.7 meters, the empty displacement was 15,740 ts , full about 20,000 standard tons . The flight deck was 210 meters long, its maximum width was about 24 meters, which resulted in a deck area of ​​about 5000 square meters. The island sat on the starboard side in the middle of the ship's length, it housed the navigation bridge , the chimney system and the radar systems.

The drive consisted of two Parsons geared turbines, which delivered their power of 42,000 hp to two shafts with one screw each. The steam for the drive was generated by four three-chamber steam boilers from Admiralty. The maximum speed of the carrier was 24.5 knots , the range was at a speed of 14 knots at 12,000 nautical miles .

The original anti- aircraft armament consisted of 30 40 mm Bofors guns when it was commissioned , but this was reduced due to the further development of the aircraft in the course of the service life and later completely abolished.

The Carrier Air Wing consisted of up to 37 Hawker Sea Fury and Fairey Firefly aircraft .

history

Construction and commissioning

The keel laying of the Terrible took place on April 19, 1943 at HM Dockyard Devonport , the launch took place on September 30, 1944. The end of the Second World War in 1945 interrupted work on the completion of the carrier, it was not until 1947 that the government decided to use the Terrible together with theirs Sister ship Majestic handed over to the Royal Australian Navy. Work on the completion of the ship, now known as Sydney , continued, and on December 16, 1948, she was ceremoniously put into service at the Devonport naval base as the first real aircraft carrier for the Australian Navy. The final acceptance by Australia took place after further improvements on February 5, 1949, on April 12, the Sydney left British waters and sailed to Australia.

period of service

1949-1956

Fairey Firefly prepare for launch during the Korean War

After initial exercises in Australian waters, the Sydney returned to the United Kingdom in July 1950 to transfer planes for two other squadrons to Australia, where they arrived again on December 8th. From January to September 1951 she took part in exercises with the Australian Navy, and in September she replaced the HMS Glory off the coast of Korea . It was the first aircraft carrier of a former colony that served as a flagship for the Royal Navy during the war . Hundreds of air strikes on North Korean units and positions were flown from board the Sydney , and she drove to Japan several times during her period of service off the Korean coast to replenish ammunition and fuel stocks. She remained in service with other aircraft carriers until January 25, 1952, when she returned to Australia. In October 1952 she was present off the Montebello Islands during the first British nuclear weapons tests. In the spring of 1953, the Sydney again visited Great Britain and the east coast of the United States, on April 22, 1955, the carrier aircraft were disembarked.

1956-1952

In April 1956, preparations were made to replace the Sydney as the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy by her sister ship HMAS Melbourne ; the handover took place on May 9 in Melbourne Harbor . The Sydney was used from now on as a training ship. Until 1958 she took part in several exercises with the Royal New Zealand Navy and other SEATO countries; on May 30, 1958, the Sydney was decommissioned and the reserve fleet was transferred.

1962-1973

On March 7, 1962, the Sydney was taken back into active service, this time as a fast troop transport. In the following years she visited the United States several times and participated in various exercises. Between 1965 and 1972 it was used as a transporter between Australia and Vietnam 24 times. She brought equipment from the Australian Air Force and Army to Vũng Tau , where the main base of the Australian support forces during the Vietnam War was. That is why it was nicknamed “Vung Tau Ferry” by the soldiers. With the last departure from Vung Tau on November 24, 1972, the Australian engagement in Vietnam also ended. In 1973 the Sydney participated again in some exercises and visited several Pacific countries.

Decommissioning

On July 20, 1973 it was announced that the ship would no longer receive the planned overhaul, but would be released from active service. The decommissioning took place on November 12, 1973 in Sydney Harbor, on October 28, 1975 the former aircraft carrier was sold to the Dongkuk Steel Mill Company Limited in Seoul for scrapping.

Web links

Commons : HMAS Sydney (R17)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. hazegray.org , as of June 4, 2007