| Aircraft Carriers Of The Royal Australian Navy |
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PRE-WORLD WAR II The navy's experience with aircraft at sea actually began prior to the Second World War, with the commissioning of the Seaplane Carrier , HMAS ''Albatross'' . ''Albatross'' was commissioned in 1929 and served for four years in the RAN before being paid off into the reserve in 1933 . During her time in service she followed the normal uneventful pattern of the peacetime naval vessel of the thirties on the Australia Station – winter cruises to New Guinea and New Britain and surrounding islands, spring cruises to the southern states, exercises, training and long periods in Sydney Harbour . Her complement of Supermarine amphibians were crewed and maintained by personnel of the RAAF . She was eventually traded to the Royal Navy in 1938 as part payment for the cruiser HMAS ''Hobart'' . WORLD WAR II While the Royal Australian Navy did not operate any aircraft carriers during World War II, each of the RAN's heavy and light cruisers was equipped with a single seaplane operated by No. 9 Squadron RAAF . Due to the Allied air dominance of the areas in which the cruisers operated, the surviving Australian cruisers had their seaplane catapults removed in 1944 and No. 9 Squadron was disbanded at the end of the year. During late 1944 and 1945 the British Pacific Fleet was based in Australia. In order to support the Fleet's aircraft carriers, the Australian government constructed a number of airfields and other facilities to support naval aviation. Many of these facilities (including HMAS ''Albatross'' , the RAN's main air station) were later used to support Australia's post-war carriers. POST-WORLD WAR II World War II saw a number of squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm being crewed exclusively by Australians. Their experience led the Australian government to make the decision to form an Air Arm for the RAN. In tandem with this was the decision to purchase two conventional aircraft carriers from the Royal Navy . At the time, a large class of small Light Fleet Carriers , the ''Majestic'' Class was under construction. Two of these, ''Majestic'' and ''Terrible'', were selected for purchase. ''Terrible'' was in a more advanced state of construction, and was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS ''Sydney'' in 1948 . ''Sydney'', with an Air Wing of Hawker Sea Fury and Fairey Firefly aircraft, served as the flagship of the fleet for seven years, serving during the Korean War . Her sister ''Majestic'' meanwhile had been taken in hand for a major conversion which would see all of the latest developments in carrier technology (angled flight deck, mirror landing sight, steam catapult) incorporated, enabling her to operate the latest jet aircraft. Because of the amount of work needed to complete ''Majestic'', the RAN took another light fleet carrier, the ''Colossus'' Class HMS ''Vengeance'', on loan from the RN. She commissioned as in 1952 as HMAS ''Vengeance'' and served for three years before she was returned to the Royal Navy. In 1955 , work on ''Majestic'' was completed, and she was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS ''Melbourne'' . At that time, ''Sydney'', which remained unmodified and thus incapable of supporting jet operations, was re-roled as a training ship, leaving ''Melbourne'' as the only operational carrier. On her commissioning, her air wing included Sea Venoms and Gannets . As time went on, ''Melbourne'' received newer and more powerful aircraft to operate from her deck, culminating in 1967 with the A-4 Skyhawk and S-2 Tracker , as well as helicopters. ''Melbourne'' saw service during the Vietnam War , when she served as part of the escort for ''Sydney'', which was operated in the fast troop transport role. ''Sydney'' was decommissioned in 1973 and sold for scrapping, while ''Melbourne'' continued in her operational role. In 1981 , she was scheduled for a long refit. However, a decision was taken by the government to replace her with a new carrier. Contact was made with the British government, and an agreement was reached for the sale of the brand new light aircraft carrier HMS ''Invincible'' , to be renamed HMAS ''Australia'' and handed over to the RAN in late 1982 . However, the invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina , and the subsequent deployment of ''Invincible'' as part of the task force led to a rethink of British policy. The sale of ''Invincible'' was subsequently cancelled, with the older and larger HMS ''Hermes'' offered instead. The 1983 Election in Australia, which saw a change of government, eventually led to the decision being taken that ''Melbourne'' would not be replaced. ''Melbourne'' was sold to China for scrap in 1985 . There is evidence to suggest that the ship was studied by the Chinese Navy to help understand aircraft carrier concepts prior to the Chinese building their own aircraft carrier. Following the decommissioning of ''Melbourne'', the Fleet Air Arm was restricted to helicopters operating from frigates and support ships. The RAN's aviation capabilities were boosted in the late 1990s with the commissioning of the two ''Kanimbla'' Class LPAs , each of which are capable of operating 4 S-70 Blackhawk or 3 Sea King helicopters. The ships will also be able to operate the new Tiger helicopter gunships. While the LPAs are primarily amphibious transports, their large helicopter capacity means that they could be used as anti-submarine helicopter cruisers, along similar lines to the French helicopter cruiser ''Jeanne D'Arc'' . The LPAs have operated in this role during exercises. {Link without Title} THE FUTURE Up to the present, the RAN has not made any attempt to become an aircraft carrier force. However, a major new project to re-equip the navy will see a pair of ''Canberra'' Class Ships constructed. These ships will be utilised in the amphibious assault, command, transport and air support roles. Two designs were chosen to compete for this - the French ''Mistral'' Class and the Spanish Buque De Proyección Estratégica . Both of these are fitted with a full length flight deck and island superstructure, giving them the appearance of small aircraft carriers. In 2007 , the Spanish design was chosen by the Australian government as the basis of the ''Canberra'' class. While it is not currently planned that the multi-purpose vessels operate fixed wing aircraft, the ships are potentially capable of operating STOVL aircraft. If it is decided to operate such aircraft the only real option would be the STOVL F-35B version of the Joint Strike Fighter. Australia has made a preliminary commitment to purchase 100 of the CTOL F-35A for the RAAF; were it required, the option would be there to add a small number of F-35Bs to that order. The two ships, to be named ''Adelaide'' and ''Canberra'' , are due to enter service in approximately 2012 and 2015 . |
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