Thread: I did it.

I never been in the service shorty but back in the mid 70s I had few mates who served aboard HMAS Stalwart (I think? fleet supply vessel?)

...anyhoo, I spent a day on board (Garden Is, Syd), one of them worked in the kitchen (galley?), and had his own supergazoo icecream maker! very impressive!

rambling old tub it was, quite amazing - the fleet 'fix it' ship.... top grade cold beer, too!


cheers, GQ

Served on her 1974\5.
Recalled from leave on Christmas Day to go to Darwin.

She was the largest warship ever built by an Australian Dockyard, Cockatoo Docks in Sydney.

Fix it ship indeed. She was the Fleet Maintenance Vessel.
2 crews, ships staff and Fleet Maintenance Unit (we the elite?).
Main propulsion was by 2 Scott Sulzer Marine diesels. 12,500 HP developed, direct connected prop shaft, no gearboxes. Sleeve valves in the cylinders took care of reversing the entire engine running direction.
Top speed ahead was 276 RPM. Baby flew fast.

Ships power was supplied by a total of 7 YJ16 Paxman diesels. The very same engines, the Patrol Boats and Oberon subs, used for MAIN engines.

She had electrical, engineering, weapons, and carpentry workshops. We had our own foundry and blackies shops.
The main lathe in the Engineers work shop was a "Grey",
had a bed over 30 feet long, and turned 3 foot in the gap, which was 4 foot long.
That workshop also contained Cincinatti Milling machines, surface grinders, line borers, broaching engines, you name it we had it.

Medically she had 2 operating theaters and a dental theater.

We could tow 4 destroyers alongside at sea, 2 each side, supply all their needs in food, power, water, steam all at the same time we were fixing them up. Do you remember seeing the bakery, right next to the Galley? And the Butchers shop?

And for fun?
We used to race the Crown Electric Pallet trucks around the decks. You try controlling one of them in a "power slide" on a steel deck, moving at sea.

Mayhem.