On This Day

1960-1975 > Vietnam era

May 2, 1977

HMAS SWAN sailed in response to an urgent request for medical assistance from SS Austral Moon. Two crew members had suffered serious injuries when the 30,000 tonne American freighter encountered heavy weather some 650nm due east of Sydney. Swan rendezvoused with Austral Moon that afternoon. The inclement weather precluded the use of Swan’s boats so a line was passed to the freighter and connected to an inflatable naval life raft. Surgeon Lieutenant Brian Misso and Leading Seaman Phillip Littlewood were lowered into the raft to be pulled across to Austral Moon while Swan afforded a lee as best she could in the conditions. There were tense moments as the line parted during the crossing but Lieutenant Misso and Leading Seaman Littlewood were able to secure the raft and board the freighter. They remained on board Austral Moon until she arrived in Sydney the following morning and the two injured sailors were transferred to a waiting ambulance at Circular Quay.

December 27, 1975

725 Squadron, flying the Wessex, decommissioned

December 3, 1975

HMAS OTAMA, (Oberon class submarine), was launched by Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, in Greenock, Scotland. She was the last of the Oberon class submarines built for the RAN.

November 24, 1975

HMAS ANZAC, (Battle class destroyer), was sold out of service for breaking up in Hong Kong.

November 17, 1975

RADM G. V. Gladstone was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Her Majesty’s Australian Fleet. His flagship was HMAS SUPPLY.

October 5, 1975

HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier and fast troop transport), was sold for breaking up in South Korea.

September 15, 1975

HMS ODIN, the last Royal Navy submarine to serve with the Australian Submarine Flotilla, sailed from Sydney.

September 12, 1975

HMAS FLINDERS, (survey ship), completed the RAN’s first survey controlled by a satellite navigation system, off the coast of Bougainville

September 5, 1975

Two armament workers were killed in an explosion at the RAN’s Armament Depot, at Newington, Sydney. The accident occurred during the testing of a torpedo firing pistol.

July 20, 1975

CAPT A. S. Rosenthal, DSO and Bar, OBE, RAN, died in Melbourne.

July 17, 1975

Skyhawk A4G (872) was part of a 5-ship flight conducting bombing practice at the Beecroft Head Firing Range, NSW. 872 pulled up off the range and collided with the underside of 870. SBLT Malcolm McCoy (the pilot of 872) was killed, and the aircraft destroyed.

July 4, 1975

HMAS HOBART, (guided missile destroyer), represented Australia at the United States Bicentenary Celebrations at New York. Fifty ships of 30 nations participated in the ceremonial entry into the port.

June 30, 1975

The uniformed strength of the RAN was 16,115 officers and ratings.

June 10, 1975

The Australian Naval Institute was founded in Canberra, under the leadership of CDRE V. A. Parker, RAN. The Institute exists to advance knowledge and understanding of naval and maritime affairs among serving and retired members of the RAN, and produces a quarterly journal.

May 12, 1975

HMAS QUEENBOROUGH, the last of the five ‘Q’ class destroyers presented to the RAN as a gift by Great Britain, was towed out of Sydney, bound for Hong Kong and breaking up.

April 20, 1975

The patrol boat HMAS AWARE, (LEUT G. Sproule, RAN), apprehended four Taiwanese vessels, and one Indonesian vessel, that were fishing in Australian territorial waters near Dampier, WA.

March 24, 1975

The destroyer escort HMAS PARRAMATTA, (CMDR J. D. Foster, RAN), became the first RAN warship to visit the scene of the killing of CAPT James Cook, RN, at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii.

March 13, 1975

The patrol boat HMAS ASSAIL, (LEUT C. Cleveland, RAN) intercepted three Indonesian fishing boats poaching in Australian territorial waters in Admiralty Gulf, WA. The subsequent court case was the precedent for prosecutions under the Australian Fisheries Act, 1975. In the pursuit of the Indonesian vessels, ASSAIL discovered an uncharted passage between North Eclipse and Jones Islands.

March 2, 1975

First Sea King delivered to RAN FAA

February 10, 1975

Grumman S2E Tracker 853 ditched after night flying when doing a Bolter (missed wire and going around again) from HMAS Melbourne. The 4 crew were all rescued unhurt. This was the only RAN Tracker lost during flying operations

January 30, 1975

Operation Navy Help, the support to the clean up and rebuilding of Darwin following Cyclone Tracy, was completed. Over a dozen RAN warships, and thousands of sailors had been involved in the operation, and contributed greatly to getting Darwin cleaned up, and restoring essential services. The next day the last two warships, (HMA Ships STALWART and BRISBANE), departed. BRISBANE had the distinction of being one of the first ships to arrive in Darwin on 31 December, and being one the last to leave.

January 13, 1975

RAN Clearance Diving Team 1, under LEUT D. Ramsden, RAN, salvaged the patrol boat HMAS ARROW at Darwin. The patrol boat sank during Cyclone Tracy.

January 7, 1975

RAN Clearance Diving Team 2 recovered bodies from vehicles under the collapsed span of the Tasman Bridge at Hobart. The divers worked under difficult conditions in murky water.

January 1, 1975

HMAS MELBOURNE, (aircraft carrier), and HMAS STUART, (destroyer escort), arrived in the cyclone destroyed city of Darwin. Over the following days they were joined by HMA Ships STALWART, HOBART, SUPPLY, VENDETTA, BALIKPAPAN, BETANO, TARAKAN, and WEWAK. CDT1 also arrived to recover the wreck of HMAS ARROW from underneath Stokes Hill Wharf. During the period 1 to 30 January 1975 the RAN contributed 17,979 man-days of effort in cleaning up the city. The peak was 1200 personnel ashore at the height of the clean up operation. Wessex helicopters from the Task Group carried some 7832 passengers and delivered over 110,000kg of cargo ashore. RAN HS 748 aircraft from HMAS ALBATROSS, Nowra, NSW, made 14 return flights into the city and carried 485 passengers, and delivered nearly 23,000kg of cargo.

December 31, 1974

HMA Ships BRISBANE and FLINDERS were the first ships to arrive in Darwin, to commence work as part of Operation Navy Help, the cleanup and rebuilding of Darwin following the devastating effects of Cyclone Tracy. FLINDERS surveyed the entrance to Darwin Harbour to ensure the safe passage of the RAN Task Group, and BRISBANE landed work parties to commence the massive job of cleaning up the devastated city.