On This Day
1946-1959 > Post WW2
On This Day - 1946-1959
- October 18, 1954
HMAS Bataan paid off at Sydney having steamed 279,395 nautical miles since commissioning. Bataan was sold for scrap on 2 May 1958 to Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha Ltd of Tokyo, Japan.
- October 9, 1954
HMAS SHROPSHIRE, (cruiser), departed from Sydney under tow for the ship-breakers in Scotland.
- October 5, 1954
808 Squadron, flying Sea Furies, decommissioned at Nowra.
- September 8, 1954
Australia signed the Manila Treaty to form a military alliance with France, US, UK, New Zealand, Philippines, Pakistan, and Thailand, to be known as the South East Asia Treaty Organisation, (SEATO)
- September 1, 1954
HMAS TIDE AUSTRAL, later renamed SUPPLY, was launched at Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- August 31, 1954
HMAS AUSTRALIA (II) was paid off having steamed 477,301 miles in the period since August 1939. She was sold as scrap to British Iron and Steel Corporation (Salvage) Ltd on 25 January 1955. Australia (II) was towed from Sydney by the Dutch tug Rode Zee on 26 March 1955 and was broken up at the Thomas Ward Shipbreaking Yard at Barrow-in-Furness, England, between 1955 and 1957.
- August 3, 1954
850 Squadron decommissioned and 851 Squadron commissioned at NAS Nowra as a training squadron flying Fairey Fireflies and Douglas Dakotas.
- June 18, 1954
Delivery of the first RAN Vampire trainer took place when Lieutenant Peter Goldrick, RAN accepted the de Havilland Sea Vampire Mk T.34 at the de Havilland workshop in Bankstown on behalf of 723 Squadron. The aircraft was then flown to its permanent home at HMAS Albatross where it was used as a land-based trainer for Sea Fury pilots converting to the soon to be delivered Sea Venom jet fighter.
- May 29, 1954
The Captain of HMAS VENGEANCE, (aircraft carrier), reported that on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Australia, the ship’s company spelt out the royal signature on the ship’s flight deck. Soon after the Royal Aircraft passed overhead, the following signal was received: ‘I have to convey the following message from the Queen. Thank you for the original forgery.’
- May 4, 1954
850 and 805 Squadron tours in Korea ends.