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In 1964 the Royal Australian Navy made a submission to the government leadership to replace the Majestic class light aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and its then air wing of four Sea Venom all weather fighters, six Gannets ASW aircraft and 12 Wessex ASW helicopters. The useful life of the Melbourne and its air wing was expected to expire by 1967 and without replacement or upgrading the Navy’s carrier capability would go with it. The Navy’s submission took into account the growing military power of Indonesia that had introduced several key Soviet systems and her increasing belligerence (at that time) along with that of China. It looked at various practical methods of replacing the Melbourne and air wing and made appropriate recommendations.
The Navy’s preferred replacement path for the Melbourne was to acquire from the US Navy a second hand Essex class carrier that would be upgraded to the same level as the USS Oriskany with angled flight deck and British steam catapults. The new carrier’s air wing would comprise 16 F-4B Phantom strike fighters, 12 S-2E Tracker ASW aircraft, four E-1B Tracer AEW aircraft, 16 Wessex ASW helicopters and two Sycamore SAR helicopters. The new carrier and air wing was expected to be fully operational by 1969 and a detailed plan for acquisition, including supporting equipment and personnel growth was provided. The entire cost of the new carrier acquisition was given as 150 million Australian pounds including a 10% contingency. This is the equivalent to 3.4 billion of today’s Australian dollars. The carrier and air wing would be expected to give a life of 15-18 years.
In the end the Government decided to spend a lot less than £150 million and refitted the Melbourne (£4 millioN) for another 10 years of life and purchased new aircraft for an air wing of four A-4G Skyhawk light fighters, six S-2E Trackers and 10 Wessex.
The detailed submission is now public via the National Archives of Australia and a .pdf version can be downloaded at:
http://www.t5c.biz/aat5cmisc/RAN_Replacement_CV.pdf
The Navy’s preferred replacement path for the Melbourne was to acquire from the US Navy a second hand Essex class carrier that would be upgraded to the same level as the USS Oriskany with angled flight deck and British steam catapults. The new carrier’s air wing would comprise 16 F-4B Phantom strike fighters, 12 S-2E Tracker ASW aircraft, four E-1B Tracer AEW aircraft, 16 Wessex ASW helicopters and two Sycamore SAR helicopters. The new carrier and air wing was expected to be fully operational by 1969 and a detailed plan for acquisition, including supporting equipment and personnel growth was provided. The entire cost of the new carrier acquisition was given as 150 million Australian pounds including a 10% contingency. This is the equivalent to 3.4 billion of today’s Australian dollars. The carrier and air wing would be expected to give a life of 15-18 years.
In the end the Government decided to spend a lot less than £150 million and refitted the Melbourne (£4 millioN) for another 10 years of life and purchased new aircraft for an air wing of four A-4G Skyhawk light fighters, six S-2E Trackers and 10 Wessex.
The detailed submission is now public via the National Archives of Australia and a .pdf version can be downloaded at:
http://www.t5c.biz/aat5cmisc/RAN_Replacement_CV.pdf