HMAS SYDNEY III was laid down for the Royal Navy as HMS TERRIBLE. In 1947 the Australian Government decided to acquire two carriers for the Royal Australian Navy, the first being SYDNEY followed by HMAS MELBOURNE. SYDNEY was commissioned at Devonport, England, on 16 December 1948 but was not accepted for service until 5 February 1949 due to required modifications. She was the first aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy. In September 1951 SYDNEY relieved HMS GLORY as the carrier representative of the British naval forces in the Korean theatre. It was an historic occasion, being the first time that any Dominion carrier had gone into action. SYDNEY's participation in the Korean War ended on 25 January 1952. SYDNEY spent 64 days in the operational area (not including passage from Sasebo or Kure) mainly as the British Commonwealth carrier of the west coast patrol. SYDNEY remained in commission until 30 May 1958 when she paid off into Special Reserve in Sydney. She had steamed 315,958 miles since commissioning. On 7 March 1962 she was recommissioned as a Fast Troop Transport and came into operational commission in July 1963. In 1965 SYDNEY commenced transporting troops and equipment to Vietnam, she conducted 24 voyagers between June 1965 and November 1972. On 29 February 1972, SYDNEY sailed from Vung Tau with troops and equipment being the final withdrawal of Australian forces from Vietnam. Her final trip to Vietnam was in November 1972 when she delivered a cargo of defence aid for Vietnam and Cambodia. During her many deployments to Vietnam, SYDNEY was affectionately known as the ‘Vung Tau Ferry’. She transported 16,094 troops, 5,753 deadweight tons of cargo and 2,375 vehicles during this time. On 20 July 1973 a decision was made to pay off SYDNEY instead of proceeding with the planned refit, she was decommissioned on 12 November 1973. Since re-commissioning as a Fast Troop Transport she had steamed 395,591 miles and since first commissioning in 1948 she had steamed 711,549 miles. Launched:
| 30 September 1944 | | Type: | Majestic Class Aircraft Carrier / Fast Troop Transport | | Commissioned: | 16 December 1948 | | Decommissioned: | 12 November 1973 | | Displacement: | 15,740 tons (as Aircraft Carrier)
12,569 tons (as Fast Troop Transport) | | Length: | 695 feet (overall) | | Flight Deck: | 690 feet 8 inches | | Beam: | 80 feet | | Armament: | 25 x 40mm Bofors (AA) guns (as Aircraft Carrier) | | Main Machinery: | Brown Curtis Turbines, 4 boilers, 2 shafts, 40,000 hp | | Speed: | 25 Knots | | Ship's Company: | 1335 (as Aircraft Carrier), 607 (as Fast Troop Transport) | | Aircraft: | Hawker Seafury & Fairey Firefly(No aviation facilities as Fast Troop Transport) |
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