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- RAN Ships
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- Publication
- March 2025 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
The first edition of HMAS Melbourne – 25 Years, by naval historian Ross Gillett, told the story of the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne (II), from when she was commissioned in the United Kingdom on 28 October 1955, up until October 1980.
Review by Brian Alsop
This much expanded second edition, recently released by the Naval Historical Society of Australia, now completes her story. Many fresh sections have been added, including the development of the British designed light fleet carriersin the Second World War, numerous onboard photos of the crew ‘at their jobs’, a detailed summary of the decommissioning day on 30 June 1982, and finally, her time in the reserve fleet, the voyage to the scrapyard and the ship’s last years in China.
Updated historical material, and many new colour images of the famous warship have also been sourced from a range of official, TROVE and various Facebook sources. Numerous appendices, eleven in all, also provide extra and unusual information, including details of sister ships, aircraft mentioned in the text, armament changes 1955-1982, electronics, models of the ‘flat-top’ and much more that was not in the original edition. In fact the book has grown from 124 to 204 pages!
This completely revised book provides the reader with day-by-day insights into the life of the warship from beginning to end in a level of detail that, to my knowledge, does not exist elsewhere in a readily accessible publication. The illustrations in this work are first class and include many images not seen publicly before. The soft cover version of the book is printed on high grade glossy paper.
In his Foreword to the new book RADM Tony Horton said: “One must accept and acknowledge that Melbourne played a major role in the operations of the RAN. This update by Ross Gillett brings that to the fore, and reinforces the oft held view that Melbourne was a successful Flagship and contributed much of the knowledge, experience and influence of the many who served in the RAN from 1955 to 1982. This new edition completes Melbourne’s voyage into the pages of the Navy’s history.”
In short, HMAS Melbourne – 25 years and Beyond, is a must for all naval historians and ship lovers. It provides an overview of a ship that was of the utmost importance to the defence of Australia and contributed much to the knowledge and experience of the many who served in the RAN during the ship’s active years. Highly recommended.
Note: To secure your copy of this limited edition book google the official NHSA web page at: www.navyhistory.au
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