Thread: HMAS Canberra damaged in sea trials

One thing for sure, when the 2 LHD's are operational, this mob will be ready to go, Bob


Navy's 'Fighting Chance' | Navy Daily

Originally Posted by bob10

One thing for sure, when the 2 LHD's are operational, this mob will be ready to go, Bob

Much rather have the floor remain steady when you're doing that stuff.

The patient looks rather well to me, does he have a tag saying patient just like Megan has?

I find it odd that these ships were/are built in Spain!
Doesn't Australia have the capability to do this kind of work anymore?
Not good, some polly must be getting pretty heafty kickbacks

It went to Tender, they won, an existing design with mods.

Our capability, based on current efforts , no !
We need a rolling 20 year plan, to get some long term competencies in place.

Originally Posted by Gerokent

I find it odd that these ships were/are built in Spain!
Doesn't Australia have the capability to do this kind of work anymore?
Not good, some polly must be getting pretty heafty kickbacks

Put simply no. We retain some capacity but are generally too expensive, too slow and always over budget.

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Put simply no. We retain some capacity but are generally too expensive, too slow and always over budget.

Unfortunately, true. I think the only ship construction on time & budget was the Patrol boats built at N.Q.E.A., Cairns. I served on a Daring Class Destroyer Vampire. You could not complain about the build quality, our Darings were a step above the Brit built ones, IMO. Bob

Vampire was built at Cockatoo Dockyard, Sydney

The Royal Australian Navy initially ordered four Daring-class destroyers, which were to be named after the ships of the "Scrap Iron Flotilla of World War II. The ships were modified during construction: most changes were made to improve habitability, including the installation of air-conditioning.[4] The Darings were also the first all-welded ships to be constructed in Australia.[5]
The first Australian Daring was laid down in 1949.[5] By 1950, it was already apparent that the Australian Darings would not be completed on time, as the Australian dockyards were experiencing difficulty in keeping up with the construction schedule.[4] To compensate for this, the RAN unsuccessfully attempted to purchase two of the Darings under construction in the United Kingdom, and considered acquiring ships from the United States Navy despite the logistical difficulties in supplying and maintaining American vessels in a predominately British-designed fleet.[4] Only three ships were completed; Voyager, Vendetta, and Vampire were commissioned between 1957 and 1959.[5] By the time they were commissioned, the cost of each ship had increased from Australian pound 2.6 million to A£7 million

I was fortunate to visit the Vampire in March at the maritime museum, would recommend it to everyone.

Bob, were you on it when the bridge had a. Soft top ? What was the idea behind that, to spot the ZEros?
I think the only vessel built on time on budget was a whaler in 1789

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

I have heard a rumour of a stock of brand new SMLE .303 rifles being found in an ordnance depot which will be issued to units and thus save millions of dollars. General service wagons and tan boots were also found in quantity and will save even more millions. So no complaints from the brown jobs about not getting any new goodies.

At least the 303 might stop the bugger with one shot