PMIK 4 Posted September 14, 2012 Hello there! After a less than ideal introduction to some of you on the Third Wire forums, I've decided to support this site and subscribe. Looking forward to many interesting discussions and the many fantastic mods hosted here. I also thought I'd share some photos my father took while serving in the Australian Navy in the late 1970s aboard the HMAS Melbourne. They aren't the highest quality photos, but there is a nice one of a fully loaded Skyhawk and also some Phantoms on the USS Coral Sea. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+malibu43 142 Posted September 14, 2012 Welcome and nice pictures! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Dave 2,322 Posted September 14, 2012 Welcome to CA. Grab a beer and relax. Awesome pics by the way. Those are priceless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MigBuster 2,884 Posted September 15, 2012 Welcome to CA Amazing photos from that era - thanks for putting them up - he even got an E-1 Tracer. Did your dad work in the aviation side of things on the Melbourne? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cali 6 Posted September 15, 2012 The guy in the 6th pic is rocking skinny jeans, nice pictures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PMIK 4 Posted September 15, 2012 Did your dad work in the aviation side of things on the Melbourne? No he was actually a medic, later became a paramedic in civilian life and inspired me to become a doctor. I didn't even know he had these photos until I tried to get him to play SF2. He instantly recognised the Skyhawk and grabbed these photos from his collection. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fallenphoenix1986 603 Posted September 15, 2012 Cool, do you have any more shots from the Melbourne? Just started making a model of her and the Boneventure for FSX, would be great if your dad had anything had anything taken in the hangar deck he'd be willing to share. Craig Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PMIK 4 Posted September 16, 2012 Cool, do you have any more shots from the Melbourne? Just started making a model of her and the Boneventure for FSX, would be great if your dad had anything had anything taken in the hangar deck he'd be willing to share. Craig He didn't keep too many photos, and most of them he took weren't of the Melbourne at all. Seems like he was mostly fascinated with the US hardware. The only slightly useful one would be this one that shows some of the flight deck and tower. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nesher 628 Posted September 16, 2012 awesome pictures!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fallenphoenix1986 603 Posted September 16, 2012 Thanks, might be able to make some use of it when I takle the antena mast Craig Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted September 17, 2012 Don't think I've ever seen the aft end of an RA-5 like that before... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Erik 1,812 Posted September 17, 2012 WOW! Beautiful history. The USS Coral Sea (CV 43) had an amazing 43 years of history 1947-1990. She was decommissioned in 1990, moved to Baltimore in 1993 for scraping which concluded 6 years later in 1999. The USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), another great battle cat with some 47 years of history (1961-2008). Decommissioned in 2008 she currently resides in Bremerton, Washington. Your Dad has a great eye for history, thank you for sharing these. The HMAS Melbourne (R21) had a very unique but incredible history as well from 1955-1982. I bet your dad has some real stories to share about the Melbourne if he was stationed aboard in the 70's. It would be really amazing just to hear them. Did you know that the Melbourne never fought a battle or was part of one but she still sank two ships? She was brutal when it came to allied vessels. In two similar accidents she sank two destroyers, one in 1964 where she sank the HMAS Voyager (D04) and the second in 1969 where she sank the USS Frank E. Evans (DD-754). I enjoyed reading up on all these vessels and getting to know a little about them all thanks to a few pictures and some history. Thank you and welcome to CombatACE doc. I got this pain in my .... errrrrrrr never mind. USS Coral Sea CV43 USS Kitty Hawk CV63 HMAS Melbourne R21 HMAS Voyager D04 USS Frank E. Evans DD754 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PMIK 4 Posted September 17, 2012 Did you know that the Melbourne never fought a battle or was part of one but she still sank two ships? She was brutal when it came to allied vessels. In two similar accidents she sank two destroyers, one in 1964 where she sank the HMAS Voyager (D04) and the second in 1969 where she sank the USS Frank E. Evans (DD-754). Wow, I didn't know that. That's a pretty poor record. With some exstensive research (i.e. Wikipedia) it appears that it wasn't all the Melbourne's fault, but some pretty high death tolls for the US ships. I'll ask my dad if he has any interesting stories from the Melbourne next time I get a chance, but from memory, he was only on it for 6 months, with a lot of his time on a minesweeper. He was also fortunate enough to avoid any major conflicts. I'm pretty sure he enlisted after the Vietnam War. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+streakeagle 871 Posted April 3, 2016 While poking around for info on CV 43 Coral Sea, I stumbled onto this fairly old post that I somehow missed. Great stuff! Thanks for all the pics. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
