Clusty

HMAS Melbourne was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy. She was laid down for the Royal Navy in 1943 as the lead ship of the Majestic class of light aircraft carriers, but work on her was suspended when World War II ended. The carrier was purchased by the Australian government in 1947, and upgraded to become the third ship in the world constructed with an angled flight deck. Renamed for the Australian city of Melbourne, the ship was commissioned in 1955. Melbourne never served in combat, but collided with and sank two destroyers during her career: HMAS Voyager in 1964, and USS Frank E. Evans in 1969. These, along with several minor incidents, led to the reputation that the carrier was jinxed. The last carrier in Australian service, Melbourne was decommissioned in 1982. Although sold to China for breaking, the People's Liberation Army Navy studied Melbourne over many years to further plans for a Chinese aircraft carrier. The British carrier HMS Invincible was to be acquired as a replacement, but this was cancelled following the Falklands War and the 1983 Australian federal election. (more...)

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