HMAS VOYAGER......HER FINAL HOUR

[@winstonpallot6074]

Hi to all , Especially to Alex , my name is Darky Pallot. At the time I was a L/ Seaman having just finished in the Wheel House at 2000hrs. It was actually the Captain who gave the last order , then for some unexplained reason stepped down from that part of the the Bridge to speak to someone( CPO Signals.) The surface of the Bridge was not level ,(rather stupid) there were steps up & down. The O.O.W. On loan from R.N. had no experience on Destroyers . The second OOW had no experience. Neither one said or did nothing. It was the Lookout who called out Melbourne Sir . The Captain hearing that , realised the situation ordered to the Wheel House both Engines Full Ahead. To late to prevent the disaster that unfolded . The O.O.W. Is responsible for the the Safety of the Ship when the Captain is absent. Hope this helps. Darky.

[@oddsteinardybvad-raneng]

G'day mate! The movie was held in 4 Echo Mess. It was Jane Mansfield and Marilyn Munroe from memory. I was sitting at the front nearest to the screen. Wanting to go to the heads I decided to hold on for a couple of more minutes as the girls were about to start doing a 'fan' dance. Oooo lala. If I had gone to the heads I would not be here to tell the story as the nearest heads were through 4 Delta Mess and through to our bow section and at the urinal where I would have been standing was no longer there. As it was the projector fell off its stand and landed on a sailor's back. Everything went dark and as I was closest to the light switch behind the screen I dashed for the light misjudged where the screen was and tore a hole in it and switched the lights on. I thought we had run aground as it was not a hard thud. Someone else said we may have hit one of our submarines that I did not know were around us at the time. Emergency Stations were sounded and I along with many others headed for the flight deck where my Emergency Station was.I must say that there was NO panic. I saw the bow section go by and then sink............ The rest is another story. Thank you for your explanation. You were very correct. I saw the photos of the 'wakes' that Dinger Bell had taken up in the air.

[@TheGrimethorpe]

Hi Rob. I have just stumbled across this and I have always agreed with your explanation. Kind Regards Sam Hughes

[@tullioscarsi6949]

My name is tom scasrsi i was a lme on the voyger i remember that knight,

[@winstonpallot6074]

Hi Rob Everett , I hope that is correct, my name is Winston Pallot ( I was on Voyager) I just thought we may indeed be related , my Mothers , mothers name was Sarah Everett and her Mothers name was Eliza Everett. Yours Winston

[@Semajsenrab72]

CO of Melbourne was cleared of any wrong doing in both this and Frank E. Evans incident. Cardinal rule of ops with a Carrier, especially at night, you turn to manouvre astern. You NEVER cut across the bows of a carrier unless you are at speed and a minimum of 4 miles 8000 yards MINIMUM. Even then, the training states you do not cut across the bow of a Carrier. Both were tragedies I wish never happened, but, they did so lessons are learned and taken away from the investigation to correct or reinforce already cast in stone navigational rules.

[@hmassailor2198]

it was the OOW on Voyager that gave the last order to steer to port which caused the collision

[@tullioscarsi6949]

I was on the voyager that nighte i have some bad memoris, if some sailor can read this i would like to be in contact with them thanks a lot,

[@hmassailor2198]

Tullio / Tom I was also there , I hope you are still with us , I run the HMAS Voyager website and the 2 Facebook pages , Do you have any photos of you in uniform that I could put up and I am sure you will still find some of our shipmates on Facebook , regards Alex Hagerty

[@alanmcewen7731]

My cousin R.N.Clarke was on the voyager but sadly passed away 3 years ago, RIP Ronnie.

[@oddsteinardybvad-raneng]

@@alanmcewen7731 Sorry to hear of your loss.