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18 Volume 73 Number 1
15 February 2021
performing night flying exercises, while Voyager the carrier before it was extinguished by seawater.
was acting as the carrier's plane guard escort. This The destroyer's forward section sank quickly, due
required Voyager to maintain a position astern of to the weight of the two 4.5-inch gun turrets. The
and to port of Melbourne at a distance of 1,500 to aft section did not begin sinking until half an hour
2,000 yards (1,400 to 1,800 m; 4,500 to 6,000 ft). after the collision and did not completely sub-
merge until just after midnight. Messages were
During the early part of the evening, Voyager had sent to the Fleet Headquarters in Sydney immedi-
no difficulties maintaining her position during the ately after the collision, although they initially un-
manoeuvres both ships performed. During a series derestimated the extent of the damage to Voyag-
of manoeuvres beginning at 8:40 pm, which were er. Melbourne launched her boats almost immedi-
intended to reverse the courses of both ships onto ately after the collision to recover survivors, and
a northward heading of 020°, Voyager ended up to the carrier's wardroom and C Hangar were pre-
starboard of Melbourne. 020° was the intended pared for casualties.
heading for flight operations, and at 8:52 pm, Voy-
ager was ordered to resume the plane guard sta- At 9:58 pm, Melbourne was informed that five
tion. The procedure to accomplish this required minesweepers (HMA Ships Snipe, Teal, Hawk, Ibis,
Voyager to turn away from Melbourne in a large and Curlew), two search-and-rescue (SAR) boats
circle, cross the carrier's stern, then advance along from HMAS Creswell (Air Nymph and Air Sprite),
Melbourne's port side. Instead, Voyager first and helicopters from Naval Air Station Nowra, had
turned to starboard, away from Melbourne, then been dispatched. Arriving just before 10:00 pm,
turned to port with- Air Nymph collect-
out warning. It was ed 34 survivors
initially assumed by and attempted to
Melbourne’s bridge transfer them to
crew that Voyager Melbourne, but af-
was "fishtailing", ter swells pushed
conducting a series the boat up under
of zig-zag turns in the carrier's flight
order to shed mo- deck and damaged
mentum before two communica-
swinging behind tions aerials, the
Melbourne, but SAR boat was sent
Voyager did not back to Creswell to
alter course again. offload. Another 36
were collected by
At 8:55 pm, with Air Sprite and
Voyager still turn- transported
ing to port, Mel- ashore. Once of-
bourne's Navigation floaded, the two
Officer ordered the SAR boats rejoined
carrier's engines to the search effort:
half speed astern, https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2007/ although all survi-
which Captain Rob- september/1290559791/shane-maloney/hmas-melbourne- vors were located
ertson increased to hmas-voyager#mtr within fifteen
full astern a few seconds later. At the same time, minutes and rescued, searches continued until well
Stevens gave the order "Full ahead both engines. into 11 February.
Hard a-starboard." before instructing the destroy-
er's Quartermaster to announce that a collision From the 314 personnel aboard Voyager at the
was imminent. Both ships' measures were too late time of the collision, 14 officers, 67 sailors, and 1
to avoid a collision; Melbourne struck Voyager at civilian dockyard worker were killed, including Ste-
8:56 pm. vens and all but one of the bridge crew.
Melbourne impacted just aft of Voyager's bridge Investigations
structure; the destroyer rolled to starboard before First Royal Commission
she was cut in half. Voyager’s forward boiler ex-
ploded, briefly starting a fire in the open bow of Although a naval Board of Inquiry was suggested

http://www.noabc.com/