HMAS Sydney holds a special place in the hearts of the Royal Australian Navy as she was that nation’s first true aircraft carrier. The ship was begun as a member of the Majestic class of aircraft carriers, as HMS Terrible HMAS Sydney went onto serve the Royal Australian navy with distinction. The story of this ship began in the midst of the Royal Navy’s struggle to win the Battle of Atlantic. A pressing need existed to build a large number of aircraft carriers.
HMAS Sydney was built as a wartime Majestic class aircraft carrier
In 1942 a program to build a large number of light aircraft carriers was begun. To facilitate their speedy construction it was agreed to build them to merchantile standards. The result were the ten ships of the Colossus class and a further six members of the Majestic class. Many of these ships would go on to serve in foreign navies, including HMS Terrible.
HMS Terrible was built at Devonport Dockyard
HMS Terrible has the distinction of being the sole aircraft carrier ever to have been built in a Royal Navy dockyard, in Terrible’s case, Devonport dockyard. She was laid down on the 19th May 1943 and completed for the Australian navy on the 5th February 1949. Having been commissioned at Devonport on 16th December 1948 as HMAS Sydney under the command of Captain Roy R Dowling, DSO, RAN. She wasn’t, however, accepted for service until 5th February 1949.
Unlike HMAS Melbourne, HMAS Sydney was completed to an unmodernized standard, being a traditional axial type aircraft carrier. HMAS Sydney carried a standard range of aircraft, a maximum of 37 being carried.
HMAS Sydney arrived in Australian waters in May 1949 and started service there with a series of exercises before returning to England in July 1950 to embark a further two squadrons of Sea Furies and Fireflies. Once on board the aircraft carrier made her way back home to Australia and arrived at Sydney on 8th December 1950.
HMAS Sydney went to war in the Korean War and in Vietnam
HMAS Sydney was one of the carriers sent into conflict during the Korean conflict between 1953 and 1956 and was often on call to provide fighter cover or aircraft for bombing raids. During this conflict she frequently operated with her British half sisters of the Colossus class.
As work progressed on the modernization of HMAS Melbourne at Barrow-in-Furness, similar plans were proposed for Sydney. It was suggested that she should be modernized with the addition of an angled deck, a steam catapult and mirror landing sights. This plan fell through due to lack of funds and a lack of interest in 1954. After all, one aircraft carrier in commission was deemed to be sufficient to meet Australian needs. Furthermore, the more modern Melbourne was to be the one ship in commission.
When HMAS Melbourne finally arrived in Australia in 1956, HMAS Sydney was deployed as a training carrier for a number of years. Between 1961 and 1962, HMAS Sydney was converted to a fast transport role taking Australian troops to South Vietnam. This work involved the removal of all fixed wing aircraft equipment such as catapults, arrestter wires. Her hanger was converted into accommodation spaces for troops, while the flight deck was used to park military vehicles. Two large cranes were also added forward of the island to aid with the disembarkation of vehicles. Eventually, she was laid up in 1973 and scrapped in Korea by Dong Kuk Steel Mill Co in December 1975.
