Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Chapter · 41:28-45:15

HMAS Melbourne becomes Australia's visible fleet presence

Melbourne's patrols, convoy escort, and aircraft platform show how one cruiser represented and extended the young Australian navy.

Anzac ConvoysFleet PresenceGerman East Asia SquadronGerman High Seas FleetGerman New GuineaGrand FleetHeligoland BightHMAS Melbourne (1912)Naval AviationRoyal Australian NavyShipboard AircraftWorld War I
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Notes

As the first cruiser launched and completed for the Royal Australian Navy, Melbourne spent peacetime training and visiting Australian ports before campaigning against German Pacific possessions. She escorted the ANZAC convoy and then served with the Grand Fleet. An aircraft platform fitted in 1917 allowed her to launch a fighter after German aircraft over Heligoland Bight, though the pilot lost his bearings in cloud and returned without finding the target. After the German High Seas Fleet surrendered, Melbourne escorted SMS Nürnberg. One of her six-inch guns survives in the Australian Fleet Air Arm Museum.