title: Mandodari

text: Mandodari is described as a beautiful woman in Valmiki's Ramayana. When Hanuman, the monkey messenger of Rama, comes to Lanka in search of Sita, he is stupefied by Mandodari's beauty when he enters Ravana's bed chambers and mistakes Mandodari for Sita. When Hanuman finally finds Sita, he finds Ravana threatening to kill Sita unless she marries him. Ravana raises his sword to behead Sita when she refuses. Mandodari saves Sita by holding Ravana's hand. Mandodari says that the murder of a woman is a heinous sin and thus Ravana should not kill Sita. She asks Ravana to entertain himself with his other wives and give up the idea of having Sita as his wife. Ravana spares Sita's life, but does not give up his wish to marry Sita.


title: Mandodari

text: When all attempts for a peaceful return of Sita fail, Rama declares war on Ravana's Lanka. Before the final battle against Rama, Mandodari makes a last attempt to dissuade Ravana, but to no avail. Finally, Mandodari stands by her husband in the final battle like an obedient and faithful wife, though she advises her son Meghanada, alias Indrajit ("One who had conquered Indra; the god-king of heaven"), not to fight Rama.


title: Mandodari

text: Several manuscripts of the "Ramayana" mention a story in which Angada drags Mandodari by her hair in presence of Ravana as a punishment for Ravana's treatment of Sita. Satyatirtha, a commentator on "Ramayana", dismisses this story as spurious. According to this story: When all of Ravana's sons and warriors die, Ravana organizes a "yajna" ("fire sacrifice") to assure his victory. Rama sends a troop of monkeys headed by Hanuman and the monkey prince Angada to destroy this "yajna". The monkeys create havoc in Ravana's palace, but Ravana continues the "yajna". Angada drags Mandodari by her hair in front of Ravana. Mandodari pleads to her husband to save her and reminds him what Rama is doing for his wife. The enraged Ravana abandons the "yajna" and strikes Angada with his sword. With the "yajna" disturbed, Angada's purpose is served and he leaves Mandodari and escapes. Mandodari again implores Ravana to surrender Sita to Rama, but he refuses. Other Ramayana adaptations present more gruesome descriptions of the incident. The "Krittivasi Ramayan" narrates that the monkeys dragged Mandodari and tore off her clothes. In "Bicitra Ramayana", it is Hanuman who humiliates Mandodari. The Thai adaptation "Ramakien" narrates that Hanuman sleeps with Mandodari in the form of Ravana and destroys her chastity, which protects Ravana's life.


title: Mandodari

text: Ravana fights the final duel with Rama. Rama fails to kill Ravana with his ordinary arrows, but finally kills with a magical arrow. While Valmiki's Ramayana narrates that the magical arrow was given to Rama by Indra, in other versions the magical arrow is hidden in Mandodari's bed chambers or under her bed. While Mandodari is engrossed in worshipping the goddess Parvati for Ravana's wellbeing, Hanuman comes to her disguised as a hermit. After winning her confidence, he tricks her into revealing the secret location of the arrow. Hanuman seizes the arrow and gives it to Rama, leading to Ravana's end. Mandodari appears at the death scene of Ravana in a disarrayed state and laments his death. In this battle, Mandodari loses her husband, her sons and her kinsmen.


title: Mandodari

text: While the Ramayana of Valmiki is silent on Mandodari's fate after Ravana's death, many versions of Ramayana state that after the death of Ravana, Rama advises Vibhishana to take Mandodari as his wife, even though he already had a wife. A theory suggests that Ravana's race may have had matrilineal families and thus, to restore order in the kingdom after Ravana's death, it was necessary for Vibhishana to marry the reigning queen to get the right to rule. Another theory suggests it may be a non-Aryan custom to marry the reigning queen. The marriage between Mandodari and Vibhishana is purely an "act of statesmanship", rather than a marriage based on their "mutual sexual interference". Mandodari may have agreed to marry Vibhishana, her younger brother-in-law, as this would lead the kingdom to prosperity and stability as allies of Rama's Ayodhya, and she would continue to have a say in governance. Another reason for the marriage is as an alternative to suicide for the widowed Mandodari, which is averted by Rama.


title: Mandodari

text: Though Valmiki's Ramayana does not record Mandodari as being the mother of Sita, some later adaptations of the Ramayana depict Mandodari as the mother of Sita or at least the cause of the latter's birth.


title: Mandodari

text: The "Adbhuta Ramayana" narrates: Ravana used to store the blood of sages he killed in a large pot. The sage Gritsamada was practicing penance to acquire the goddess Lakshmi as his daughter. He stored milk from Darbha grass and purified it with mantras in a pot so that Lakshmi would inhabit it. Ravana poured the milk from this pot into his blood pot. Mandodari is frustrated seeing the evil deeds of Ravana, so she decides to commit suicide by drinking the contents of the blood-pot, which is described to be more poisonous than poison. Instead of dying, Mandodari gets pregnant with the incarnation of Lakshmi due to the power of Gritsamada's milk. Mandodari buries the foetus in Kurukshetra, where it is discovered by Janaka, who named her Sita.


title: Mandodari

text: The "Devi Bhagavata Purana" says: When Ravana wants to marry Mandodari, Maya warns him that her horoscope indicated her first-born would destroy her clan and should be killed. Ignoring Maya's advice, Ravana buries his first child by Mandodari in a casket in Janaka’s city, where it is discovered and grew up as Sita. Jain adaptations of the Ramayana like "Vasudevahindi", "Uttara-purana", and others also state that Sita is the daughter of Ravana and Mandodari, and is abandoned when she is prophesied to be the cause of the end of Ravana and his family.


title: Mandodari

text: In the Malay "Seri Rama" and the Indonesian-Javanese "Rama Keling", Ravana wants to possess Mandodari, the mother of Rama, but instead marries a pseudo-Mandodari, who looks like the real one. Rama's father has a union with this pseudo-Mandodari, resulting in the birth of Sita, who is nominally Ravana's daughter.


title: Mandodari

text: According to the "Ananda Ramayana", king Padmaksha had a daughter named Padma - an incarnate of the goddess Lakshmi. When her marriage is organized, Rakshasas (demons) kill the king. The grief-stricken Padma jumps into fire. Ravana discovers her body, which had turned into five jewels, in the fire and takes it to Lanka sealed in a box. Mandodari opens the box and finds Padma inside it. She advises Ravana to cast off the box containing the ill-fated Padma, who led to the doom of her father. When the lid of the box is closed, Padma curses Ravana that she will return to Lanka and cause his doom. Ravana buries the box in the city of Janaka, who discovers Padma and brings her up as Sita.


title: Mandodari

text: Hindus remember the "panchakanya" - the five maidens in this daily prayer, though none of them is considered an ideal woman who could be emulated. Mandodari, with Ahalya, Sita and Tara, belong to the "Ramayana", while Draupadi is from the "Mahabharata". Among the five elements, Mandodari is equated to water, "turbulent on the surface and deep in her spiritual quest". The writer Dhanalakshmi Ayyer says:


title: Mandodari

text: Her story is a reminder that the universal denigration of a group, based on the behaviour of a few, cannot cloud the greatness of the individual. Mandodari defies the stereotype of this racism. She is simple, unswerving, and self-effacing, driven by the light of knowledge which gives meaning to solid materialism in an age that is shrouded by impulse, passion, and desire. She is the instrument that awakens the mind and counsels reason when irrationality becomes the core being. That she goes unheard and unheeded does not change her path. To her, the dharmic part is inward-looking, while the role of the dutiful wife is the external self. Mandodari thought that her duty to her husband on issues of morals and values ended with her telling him what she thought of his actions. She neither put up any brave fight to stop him nor considered it her duty to do so.


title: Mandodari

text: Mandodari's role is short in the Ramayana but very important. She is described as a pious and righteous royal lady. Compared to the rest of the "panchakanya", Mukherjee considers Mandodari's life as "less colourful and eventful". He adds: "Mandodari seldom got prominence ... Her image lacks substance and fades quickly", though he lays stress on her love and loyalty towards her husband. Pradip Bhattacharya, author of the book "Panchkanya: Women of Substance" notes that "there is hardly anything special that Valmiki (Ramayana) has written about her (Mandodari) except that she warns her husband to return Sita and has enough influence to prevent his [sic] raping her."


title: The Next 365 Days

text: The Next 365 Days () is a 2022 Polish erotic drama film directed by Barbara Białowąs and Tomasz Mandes. Serving as a sequel to "" (2022), it is based on the third novel of a trilogy by Blanka Lipińska, and stars Anna-Maria Sieklucka, Michele Morrone, Simone Susinna, Magdalena Lamparska and Otar Saralidze.


title: The Next 365 Days

text: Filming was set to begin in 2021, in areas around Italy and Poland, with Anna-Maria Sieklucka and Magdalena Lamparska reprising their roles from the first two films. Michele Morrone was also confirmed to reprising his role.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, owned by the Sazerac Company. It has historically been known by several names, including the George T. Stagg Distillery and the Old Fashioned Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. Its namesake bourbon brand, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey, was introduced in August 1999. The company claims the distillery is the oldest continuously-operating distillery in the United States. The company says the name "Buffalo Trace" refers to an ancient buffalo crossing on the banks of the Kentucky River in Franklin County, Kentucky. The Sazerac Company purchased the distillery in 1992.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: Under its old name, George T. Stagg Distillery, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 2001, and designated a National Historic Landmark on March 11, 2013.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: The company claims the distillery to be the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States. Another distillery with similar historical extent is Burks' distillery, now used for production of Maker's Mark. According to its citation in the registry of National Historic Landmarks, Burks' Distillery's origins extend to 1805, and Burks' Distillery is listed in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the oldest operating bourbon distillery.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: Records indicate that distilling started on the site that is now the Buffalo Trace Distillery in 1775 by Hancock Lee and his brother Willis Lee who died in 1776. The first distillery was constructed in 1812 by Harrison Blanton. In 1870 the distillery was purchased by Edmund H. Taylor and given its first name, the Old Fire Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. Taylor sold the distillery eight years later to George T. Stagg along with the Old Oscar Pepper Distillery. This second distillery was sold within the year to James Graham, in order to add more land to the O.F.C. Distillery. In 1886, Stagg installed steam heating in the storage warehouses, the first climate controlled warehouse for aging whiskey in the nation.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: During Prohibition, the distillery was allowed to remain operational, in order to make whiskey for "medicinal purposes".


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: In 1972 Gary Gayheart became the master distiller. After his retirement in 2005, he was succeeded by Harlen Wheatley.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: In 2016 Buffalo Trace Distillery announced plans to expand operations with a capital investment of $200 million.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: In October 2016, during renovations to convert a building to a meeting and event space, workers discovered the foundation of the original 1873 distillery building, which burned down in 1882, along with the remains of fermenters from that same year. The original distillery foundation was left in place after the fire and an expanded distillery building was built as a replacement. The site is now open for visitors to Buffalo Trace.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: In March 2022, Buffalo Trace Distillery announced the creation of six-litre OFC Vintage Bourbon Whiskeys, distilled in 1982, and their accompanying NFTs. The NFTs were sold on Blockbar, with the highest bid of $60,000. The sale was part of the distillery’s mission to raise US$2 million for charity by donating 2,022 bottles of whiskey to fundraising causes.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: Production capacity at Buffalo Trace is estimated at about of whiskey per year. This is carried out at a beer still with a capacity of .


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: While Buffalo Trace Distillery is mainly known for its bourbon, it also produces other spirits such as rye whiskey and vodka.


title: Buffalo Trace Distillery

text: "Buffalo Trace" is also a bourbon brand made by the distillery that was introduced in August 1999, two months after the distillery changed its name from the George T. Stagg Distillery.


title: Bump (Australian TV series)

text: Bump is an Australian streaming television comedy-drama series created by Claudia Karvan and Kelsey Munro which premiered on Stan on 1 January 2021. Set in and around a high school in the Inner West of Sydney, the series centres around Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby and the complications that ensue for two families. The ten-part series was produced by Roadshow Rough Diamond.


title: Bump (Australian TV series)

text: The series was co-created by Claudia Karvan and Kelsey Munro, who also co-wrote with a writing team of Jessica Tuckwell, Timothy Lee, Mithila Gupta and Steven Arriagada. Karvan produced along with John Edwards and Dan Edwards. Geoff Bennett, Gracie Otto and Leticia Cáceres directed the series.


title: Bump (Australian TV series)

text: In January 2021 the series was renewed for a second season. In July it was confirmed that production on season 2 was underway in Sydney and that a third season had also been confirmed. On 25 November 2021 a trailer for season 2 was released along with an announcement that the season was scheduled to be released on 26 December 2021.


title: Bump (Australian TV series)

text: On 18 June 2021, Canada's CBC premiered the first season of "Bump" on its CBC Gem streaming service, adding the second season on 29 July 2022. In the United Kingdom, the series began airing on BBC One on 20 October 2021, and also was made available on the BBC iPlayer streaming service. The second season debuted on 17 June 2022.


title: Bump (Australian TV series)

text: In March 2022, the series was picked by The CW in the United States, and it premiered on 11 August 2022.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: "Money" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd from their 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon". Written by Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original album.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: Released as a single, it became the band's first hit in the United States, reaching number 10 in "Cash Box" magazine and number 13 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. "Money" is noted for its unusual – time signature, and the tape loop of money-related sound effects (such as a ringing cash register and a jingle of coins) that is heard periodically throughout the song, including on its own at the beginning.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: "Money" has been described as a progressive rock, blues rock, and hard rock song. Although Roger Waters and David Gilmour have made recent comments stating that the song had been composed primarily in time, Rick Wright stated in a 2000 US radio interview that "Money" was composed in as stated by Gilmour in an interview with "Guitar World" magazine in 1993.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: The song changes to time for an extended guitar solo. The first of three choruses which comprise the solo was recorded using real-time double tracking. Gilmour played the chorus nearly identically in two passes recorded to two different tracks of a multi-track tape machine. The second chorus is a single guitar. The doubled effect for the third chorus was created using automatic (or "artificial") double-tracking (ADT).


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: One of Gilmour's ideas for the solo section was that, for the second chorus of the solo, all reverb and echo effects would be completely off (referred to as "dry"), creating the sense of just four musicians playing in a small room. For this "dry" chorus, all musicians played softly and subtly, with Gilmour's solo, now one single guitar, playing very sparsely. Then, for the third chorus, the dynamics would suddenly rise, with heavy use of reverb and echo (a "wet" sound), additional rhythm-guitar parts in the background, and the drums becoming heavy and almost chaotic.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: The form and chord progression are based on the standard twelve-bar blues in the key of B minor, with the vocal melody and nearly all of Gilmour's soloing based on the pentatonic and blues scales. Two twelve-bar verses are followed by a twenty-bar instrumental section that features a blues-style tenor saxophone solo (played by Dick Parry) along with keyboard, bass and drums and a further two-bar intro in leading to the guitar solo, which is structured like a twelve-bar blues, but doubled to a twenty-four-bar length.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: The lyrics are briefly referenced in the film "Pink Floyd – The Wall", when the protagonist, Pink, is caught writing poems in class by his teacher. The teacher snatches the poem book from him and reads it in a very sarcastic, demeaning manner, practically encouraging Pink's classmates to laugh. The poem is a verse of lyrics to "Money".


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: "Money interested me enormously," Waters remarked on the twentieth anniversary of "Dark Side". "I remember thinking, 'Well, this is it and I have to decide whether I'm really a socialist or not.' I'm still keen on a general welfare society, but I became a capitalist. You have to accept it. I remember coveting a Bentley like crazy. The only way to get something like that was through rock or the football pools. I very much wanted all that material stuff."


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: The demo tracks for the song, including some of the sound effects, were recorded in a makeshift recording studio Roger Waters had in his garden shed. As recorded by the band, the song has a "bluesy, transatlantic feel", unlike Waters' original demo version, which he later described as "prissy and very English". As heard on "Classic Albums: Pink Floyd – The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon", the demo is in the key of G-sharp minor, as opposed to the B minor of the final version.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: The instrumental jam was a collaborative effort, with Gilmour overseeing the time change as well as his own guitar and vocal work, and Richard Wright and Nick Mason improvising their own parts. Dick Parry contributed the tenor saxophone solo that precedes the guitar solo. Gilmour's input is also discernible in the final mix, which features contrasting "wet" sections, with thick reverb and delay effects, and "dry" sections. In particular, during the second chorus of the guitar solo, all the reverb and delay effects are suddenly pulled out, creating a much smaller and more intimate virtual space. To produce the distinctive piercing high notes that distinguish the final chorus of his solo, Gilmour played a customised Lewis guitar with twenty-four frets, allowing a full four-octave range.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: One of the most distinctive elements of "Money" is the rhythmic sequence of sound effects that begins the track and is heard throughout the first several bars. This was created by splicing together recordings Waters had made of clinking coins, a ringing cash register, tearing paper, a clicking counting machine and other items to construct a seven-beat effects loop. The original loop was used for early live performances, but had to be re-recorded onto multi track tape for the album. It was later adapted to four tracks in order to create a "walk around the room" effect in the quadraphonic mix of "The Dark Side of the Moon".


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: In the documentary "Classic Albums: Pink Floyd – The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon", engineer Alan Parsons described the recording of the band's initial backing track for the song: they used the sound-effect tape loop as a sort of metronome, but Parsons gradually faded out the loop before the vocals started. As the song progressed, the band gradually sped up, yet later, between the second verse and the saxophone solo, Parsons briefly raised up the volume of the effects loop, and just by coincidence, it turned out to fit the beat. After this point, the loop is not heard again.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: The song was re-recorded for the 1981 Pink Floyd album, "A Collection of Great Dance Songs", because Capitol Records refused to license the track to Columbia Records in the United States.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: With the help of co-producer James Guthrie, David Gilmour re-recorded the song, providing the vocals and playing all the instruments except saxophone, where Parry reprised his role on the original recording. This re-recorded version lasts 15 seconds longer than the original album edition.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: Four different quadraphonic versions of the song were also released on "Quadrafile", a demonstration record released in 1976. These represent the only Pink Floyd material released in QS, CD-4 and UD-4 quadraphonic formats. "Atom Heart Mother", "The Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" were released in the more successful SQ format.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: From 1972 to 1975, "Money" was a regular feature of the band's "Dark Side of the Moon" set, and it was routinely performed as an encore during the band's 1977 tour. These later performances would typically last as long as twelve minutes. From 1987 to 1990, the band performed the song during tours supporting "A Momentary Lapse of Reason", their first album without Waters, who had left the band in December 1985. In 1994 the band performed the song during tours supporting "The Division Bell", their second album without Waters. An extended version of the song, again lasting up to twelve minutes, was regularly performed during Gilmour's 1984 US tour in support of his solo album "About Face".


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: Waters has also regularly included it on his solo tours. For his tour supporting "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking", he sang the lead vocals himself. For his "Radio K.A.O.S." tour, guest vocalist and keyboardist Paul Carrack sung the lead. For the American part of his In the Flesh tour, it was sung by Doyle Bramhall II, while for the European part it was sung by Chester Kamen. For "The Dark Side of the Moon Live", it was sung by Dave Kilminster. "Money" was also performed by Waters at Live Earth's Concert at Giants Stadium on 7 July 2007.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: "Money" was performed during , for which Waters rejoined the band (after more than two decades), at the Live 8 concert in London in 2005, along with "Breathe" (including the reprise that follows "Time"), "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb". Unusually for a live Pink Floyd performance, at Live 8 the band kept the song's solo to three choruses, as it is on the album.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: Pink Floyd's album "The Dark Side of the Moon" was released 1 March 1973. "Money" is the only song from "The Dark Side of the Moon" to make its appearance on the "Billboard" Top 100 list of 1973, where it was ranked 92. In 2008, "Guitar World" magazine listed David Gilmour's solo on "Money" as No. 62 among readers' votes for "The Greatest 100 Guitar Solos." The song was also ranked No. 69 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" of "Rolling Stone". This song avoids more typical Pink Floyd themes such as paranoia, insanity, the meaning of life, and the passage of time. Instead, the lyrics criticise crass materialism.


title: Money (Pink Floyd song)

text: The music video for "Money" features scenes of various ways of making and spending money, and includes brief close-ups of a coin spinning, coins flowing in a mint, gold ingots in a bank, and a record copy of "The Dark Side of the Moon" on a turntable. In addition, the video also includes shots of the album making its way down a conveyor belt in a factory/distribution plant as well as shots of gramophone records and audio equipment being destroyed by explosives during the song's bridge.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound (muzzle report) like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a blank to cycle the action, and the shooter experiences less recoil with a blank than with a live round. Blanks are often used in prop guns for shooting simulations that have no need for ballistic results, but still demand light and sound effects, such as in historical reenactments, special effects for theatre, movie and television productions, combat training, for signaling (see starting pistol), and cowboy mounted shooting. Specialised blank cartridges are also used for their propellant force in fields as varied as construction, shooting sports, and fishing and general recreation.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: While blanks are less dangerous than live ammunition, they are dangerous and can still cause fatal injuries. Beside the explosive gases, any objects in the cartridge (like wadding that may be keeping the propellant in place, or objects lodged in the barrel) will be propelled at high velocity and cause injury or death at close range.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Blank cartridges differ from the inert/fake ammunitions such as dummy cartridges and snap caps, which contain no primer or gunpowder to even produce flash and sound and are used for "cold" training or function-testing firearm actions. They are also different from the percussion caps used in cap guns, which also produce a sound of gunfire but only consist of the equivalent of the primer with no propellant to produce a sonic boom, so they sound much softer.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Blanks are commonly used when the sound and flash of gunfire is needed, but a projectile would not be safe, such as in military training manoeuvres or funeral honours, in movies that require gun fights, in starter pistols to signal the beginning of races, and in the equestrian sport of cowboy mounted shooting.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Standard firearms that are self-loading require modification to their mechanism, or else a blank firing adapter to allow the action to cycle. This is because in the absence of a projectile to oppose the force of the gases, the lower pressures and lower recoil generated by a blank cartridge are insufficient to cycle the gun’s mechanism in the same way that a standard live round would.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: For military applications, blanks are typically used with a special blank-firing adaptor in the firearm that constricts the barrel, keeping chamber pressures created by the blank high enough and for long enough to cycle the firearm's gas-operated action. In the case of non-crimped blanks, it also serves to pulverise the plug to prevent it leaving as a projectile.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Specially designed blank-firing prop firearms are sometimes used for movies, thereby avoiding gun control legislation and increasing the margin of safety because they cannot be loaded with live ammunition. 5-in-1 blanks are specifically made for theatrical use and are commonly used in real firearms for dramatic effect. 5-in-1 blanks can function in a variety of different calibres, hence the name.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Special blank cartridges are also used when the explosive power of a cartridge is needed, but a projectile is not. Blank cartridges were commonly used for launching a messenger line, tear-gas or rifle grenades, though some types of grenades are capable of trapping the bullet of a live round. Larger blanks are also used for line launching guns, such as the line launching kit for the Mossberg 500 shotgun.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Blank rimfire cartridges, commonly called "power loads", are also used in some nail guns (powder-actuated tools), where the power is tapped to force a heavy piston into the nail, with enough force to bury its full length into steel or concrete.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Some forms of fast draw competitions use special blanks that are loaded with a layer of slow burning rifle powder on top of a thin layer of faster-burning pistol powder. The pistol powder ignites the slower burning rifle powder, and fires it out of the barrel much like a shotgun shell. The burning powder only travels a few yards before it completely combusts, but that is far enough to burst the balloon used as a target for those competitions. Wax bullets are also commonly used for competitions and training where a non-lethal projectile is required.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: A blank cartridge was sometimes also issued to a randomly selected shooter in an execution by firing squad, on the theory that each of the shooters would take comfort in the fact that they may not have fired a live round. This tradition dates back to before cartridge arms, when a muzzle loading musket would be loaded without a ball.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Blank 12-gauge shotgun cartridges are also used in "alarm mines", devices that use a tripwire to produce an extremely loud report in order to alert people in the vicinity.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Blank rounds have been used to contain the propellant within an empty cartridge, or in some cases as a piston to unlock the bolt and operate the weapon. These types of rounds are rarely used and are mostly found on Spotting rifles.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: The appearance of a blank cartridge can give a false sense of safety. Although blank cartridges do not contain a bullet, precautions are still required because fatalities and severe injuries have resulted on occasions when blank cartridges have been fired at very close ranges.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Blank cartridges frequently contain a paper, wood or plastic plug called a "wad" that seals the powder in the case. This wad can cause severe penetrating wounds at close range and bruising at medium ranges. There is also "muzzle blast" – a jet of hot, expanding gas expelled at extremely high velocity from the muzzle of the firearm. This high velocity gas can inflict severe injury at close ranges. In addition, if there is any small debris lodged inside the barrel, it will be expelled at a velocity similar to that of a bullet, with the ability to inflict a severe or lethal wound. Furthermore, the extremely loud noise of blanks being fired can damage the hearing of people in the immediate area.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Cartridges loaded with wadcutter target bullets can be mistaken for blanks because the bullet does not protrude past the mouth of the cartridge casing. Shotshell cartridges known as "snake shot" or "rat-shot" used in rifles or handguns for pest control often have the shot charge sealed with cardboard or plastic wads or the ends may be crimped or folded in a manner similar to that of blank cartridges.


title: Blank (cartridge)

text: Actors in particular are at serious risk of injury from blank cartridges used on movie sets. Several actors have been killed in such mishaps:


title: Graham Patrick Martin

text: Graham Patrick Martin (born November 14, 1991) is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Eldridge on "Two and a Half Men" (2010–12) and former teen hustler Rusty Beck on the series finale of "The Closer" and in its spinoff series, "Major Crimes" (2012–2018). Martin also portrayed Bill Engvall's older son in the sitcom "The Bill Engvall Show" (2007–09).


title: Graham Patrick Martin

text: Martin attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in New York City. When asked, in a "TNT Newsroom" interview, to describe himself, he responded: "I'm a New Yorker from New Orleans who lives in Los Angeles."


title: Graham Patrick Martin

text: When asked what inspired him to act, Martin shared that his older sister was the first in his family to become interested in acting. Martin, his two brothers and sister attended a performing arts summer camp called French Woods, where:


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: The Sopranos: Road to Respect is a 2006 video game by American developer 7 Studios based on the HBO series "The Sopranos" (1999–2007). The game's storyline takes place between the fifth and sixth seasons and centers on Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero's illegitimate son, Joey LaRocca, as he makes his way through the family business.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: "Road to Respect" was published by THQ for the PlayStation 2; a version for the Xbox 360 was set for release, but was canceled.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: The player is able to take missions from the main characters of the series at certain points in the game. "Road to Respect" differs from other mob-influenced games in that it is a linear, story-driven action game as opposed to "Grand Theft Auto"s open-world type gameplay. Players are able to play Texas Hold 'Em with members of the family and visit Bada Bing. Unlike the TV show, the game focuses almost exclusively on the Mafia aspect of "The Sopranos" rather than the blend of family, business, and therapy to which fans of "The Sopranos" are accustomed.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: The game begins with Tony Soprano offering Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero's son Joey LaRocca (the player character) a place in the Mafia. During his first job, he accidentally kills Mario Buscetta, the nephew of Angelo Buscetta. Angelo is the boss of the Philadelphia family. Angie sends a hitman to kill Joey, but Joey kills the hitman during a rooftop chase.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: A few days later, Tony's son A.J. has a drug deal go bad on him; his partner wasted the drug money, prompting the dealers to kill his partner and steal his dad's car. Joey retrieves the car and kills one of the dealers, only to have the car stolen by Angie's men. While Joey is fearful the theft of Tony's truck may get him whacked, Tony says that A.J. admitted responsibility. Tony has Joey retaliate for the theft by burning down one of Angie's businesses.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: A few days later, Angie returns Tony's car, completely wrecked, and containing Joey's girlfriend, Trichelle, beaten and raped. Joey vows vengeance. At the docks, he finds Angie and throws him off of his yacht, killing him.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: Through various intervals in the game, Joey is visited by the ghost of his dead father Salvatore, who warns him about some of the trouble ahead. For eliminating the rival boss Angie, Tony makes Joey a new official affiliate of the Soprano clan. Just before the ceremony, Joey is visited one last time by Salvatore, who is not bitter about his son joining the same mobsters who killed him, and only wants the best for him; he is at peace in the great beyond.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: Cast members include James Gandolfini returning as Tony Soprano, Michael Imperioli returning as Christopher Moltisanti, Steven Van Zandt returning as Silvio Dante, Tony Sirico returning as Paulie Gualtieri, Joseph Gannascoli returning as Vito Spatafore, Vincent Pastore returning as Big Pussy Bonpensiero, and Robert Iler returning as A.J. Soprano. The main character Joey LaRocca is voiced by Christian Maelen.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: Other noted actors Monica Keena as Trishelle and Robert Costanzo as Angelo Buscetta. Anthony DeSando, who played Brendan Filone on the series, voices an entirely new character as LaRocca's (Maelen) partner in crime, Reggie.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: The concept for the game originated from an idea that "Sopranos" creator David Chase had years earlier in his writing career. Chase described the original idea as "an action/comedy about a regular Joe from nowhere who decides he wants to be in the Mafia and how you go about joining." Despite the connection to his original idea, Chase maintained that it wasn't his idea to develop a "Sopranos" video game and that HBO executives spearheaded the project. Chase did however oversee Alan Rucker's script for the game to ensure "the characters were true to the characters."


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: In an interview with "MTV" around the time of the game's release, David Chase insisted that "Road to Respect" had little to no connection to the show: "It wasn't my idea to do a game [...] What I didn't want to have happen was that the game and the show bleed together, that any of the stuff in [the show's] story arcs [...] was in the game or had anything to do with the game."


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: Many actors from the show reprised their roles for the game, lending their voices and likenesses. Christian Maelen, who voiced the new player character Joey LaRocca, was reportedly David Chase's second choice to play the character Christopher Moltisanti.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: "HBO: The Making of 'The Sopranos: Road to Respect"' is a behind-the-scenes documentary that aired on HBO in 2006; the hour-long special includes previews of "Road to Respect", cast and crew interviews, and footage of actors recording their parts for the game.


title: The Sopranos: Road to Respect

text: The game received "generally unfavorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. The game received poor reviews from gaming websites like "GameSpot" and "IGN", which complained of overly simplistic gameplay, a small and linear game world with little ability to explore, blocky and unappealing graphics, marginal game mechanics, and various clipping and collision detection bugs. The voice acting contributed by "Sopranos" cast members received praise.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Fearless is a 1993 American drama film directed by Peter Weir and starring Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, Rosie Perez and John Turturro. It was written by Rafael Yglesias, adapted from his novel of the same name.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Rosie Perez was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Carla Rodrigo. The film was also entered into the 44th Berlin International Film Festival. Jeff Bridges' role as Max Klein is widely regarded as one of the best performances of his career. The film's soundtrack features part of the first movement of Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3, subtitled "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs". The film's screenwriter was inspired to write the script after he was in a car accident. Yglesias began writing the story after reading about United Airlines Flight 232, that crashed in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1989.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Max Klein survives an airline crash. The plane plummets, but strangely Max is calm. His calm enables him to dispel fear in the flight cabin. He sits next to Byron Hummel, a young boy flying alone. Flight attendants move through the cabin, telling another passenger, Carla Rodrigo, traveling with an infant, to hold the infant in her lap as the plane plummets out of control, while telling other passengers to buckle into their seats. Max was telling his business partner, Jeff Gordon, of his fear of flying as they took off.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: In the aftermath of the crash, most passengers died. Among the few survivors, most are terribly injured. Max is unhurt. The crash site is chaotic, filled with first responders and other emergency personnel. Focusing on the survivors, a team of investigators from the FAA and the airline company conduct interviews. Max is repelled by all the chaos. He is disgusted by the investigators wanting to interview him.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Max rents a car and starts driving home. Along the way he meets an old girlfriend from high school, Alison. They last met 20 years ago. At the restaurant Alison notices Max eating a strawberry. Max is allergic to strawberries. Max grins. He finishes the strawberry without an allergic reaction. The next morning, he is accosted by FBI investigators. They question his choice to not contact family to tell them he is fine. The airline representative offers him train tickets. Max asks for airline tickets. He wants to fly home, having no fear of air travel. The airline books him on the flight. They seat him next to Dr. Bill Perlman, the airline's psychiatrist.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Dr. Perlman annoyingly tags behind Max back to his home, prodding him for information about the crash. Max is forced to snap back at the psychiatrist rudely, to be rid of him. Laura Klein, Max's wife, notices the strange behavior. Max seems different, changed somehow. Max's late business partner's wife, Nan Gordon, asks about Jeff's last moments. Max says Jeff died in the crash.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: The media call Max "The Good Samaritan" in news reports. The boy Max sat next to, Byron, publicly thanks him in television interviews, for the way he comforted passengers while the plane fell out of control during the crash. Max is a hero.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Max avoids the press and becomes distant from Laura and his son Jonah. His persona is radically changed. He is preoccupied with his new perspective on life following his near-death experience. He begins drawing abstract pictures of the crash. As he survived without injury, he thinks himself invulnerable to death. Because of his confidence, Dr. Perlman encourages Max to meet with another survivor, Carla Rodrigo, whose infant was held in her lap while the plane fell. Carla struggles with survivor's guilt, and is traumatized for not holding onto him tightly enough, although she was following the flight attendant's instructions. Max and Carla develop a close friendship. He helps her to get past the trauma, to free herself from guilt, deliberately crashing his car to show that it was physically impossible for any person to hold onto anything due to the forces of the crash.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Attorney Steven Brillstein encourages Max to exaggerate testimony, to maximize the settlement offer from the airline. Max reluctantly agrees when he is confronted with Nan's financial predicament as a widow. Cognitive dissonance spurs Max to a panic attack. He runs out of the office, to the roof of the building. He climbs onto the roof's edge. As Max stands on the ledge, looking down at the streets below, his panic subsides. He rejoices in fearlessness. Laura finds Max on the ledge. He is spinning around on the ledge with his overcoat billowing across his face.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Brillstein arrives at the Klein home to celebrate the airline's settlement offer. He brings a fruit basket. Max eats one of the strawberries. This time he experiences an allergic reaction. Max is resuscitated by Laura and survives. He recovers his emotional connection to his family, to the world and to the reality of yet another chance at life.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: A book containing the painting "The Ascent into the Empyrean" by Hieronymus Bosch is shown, and it is said that the dying go into the light of heaven "naked and alone". Near the finale as Max lies on the ground, he relives moving from the fuselage of the aircraft and for a moment moves towards the tunnel of light that appears to be modeled on the painting.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 85% based on reviews from 41 critics, with an average score of 7.8/10. The site's consensus states "This underrated gem from director Peter Weir features an outstanding performance from Jeff Bridges as a man dealing with profound grief." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 stars and wrote: ""Fearless" is like a short story that shines a bright light, briefly, into a corner where you usually do not look."


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Vincent Canby of The New York Times said "Mr. Bridges does well with a difficult role", and Todd McCarthy of


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: Variety called it one of Bridges best performances. McCarthy was positive about the film calling it "beautifully made in all respects" but noted that as a mainstream film about profound issues and emotions some audiences will appreciate it but others may find it pretentious. Geoff Andrew of Time Out wrote: "As often with Weir, there's considerably less here than meets the eye."


title: Fearless (1993 film)

text: With video and audio quality superseding previous home video releases, "Fearless" was released on Blu-ray Disc by the Warner Archive Collection in November 2013.


title: Baek Jin-hee

text: Baek Jin-hee (born February 8, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She began to be known for her role in "" (2011–2012) and rose to prominence for her role in "Empress Ki" (2013).


title: Baek Jin-hee

text: Baek Jin-hee began her entertainment career after getting scouted on the streets by a talent agent. She has since then starred in the indie film "Bandhobi" (2009), where she plays a rebellious girl who befriends a Bangladeshi migrant worker; and sex comedy "Foxy Festival" (2010) where she plays a teenager with a thriving business selling her used underwear.


title: Baek Jin-hee

text: Baek then starred in the sitcom "" (2011-2012), playing a fresh graduate looking for employment. The series was popular and led to increased recognition for the actress. This was followed with supporting roles in fusion historical drama "Jeon Woo-chi" and romance drama "Pots of Gold".


title: Baek Jin-hee

text: Baek had her breakthrough role as the villainous empress Tanashiri (Danashiri) in the period drama "Empress Ki" (2013-2014), She next starred as an orphaned casino dealer in melodrama "Triangle" (2014), and a passionate prosecutor in legal drama "Pride and Prejudice" (2014).


title: Baek Jin-hee

text: In 2015, Baek played the title role in family drama "My Daughter, Geum Sa-wol", which was a hit and ended with national viewership of 33.6 percent.


title: Baek Jin-hee

text: In 2017, Baek played leading roles in the disaster drama "Missing 9", and office comedy series "Jugglers".


title: Baek Jin-hee

text: In 2018, Baek was cast as the female protagonist in the third installment of the "Let's Eat" franchise. The same year, she starred in the webtoon-based romantic comedy drama "Feel Good to Die".


title: Baek Jin-hee

text: On March 26, 2017, Baek's agency confirmed that Baek has been in a relationship with her "My Daughter, Geum Sa-wol" co-star, Yoon Hyun-min since April 2016.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: HMAS "Melbourne" (R21) was a "Majestic"-class light aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1955 until 1982, and was the third and final conventional aircraft carrier to serve in the RAN. "Melbourne" was the only Commonwealth naval vessel to sink two friendly warships in peacetime collisions.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" was laid down for the Royal Navy as the lead ship of the "Majestic" class in April 1943, and was launched as HMS "Majestic" (R77) in February 1945. At the end of the Second World War, work on the ship was suspended until she was purchased by the RAN in 1947. At the time of purchase, it was decided to incorporate new aircraft carrier technologies into the design, making "Melbourne" the third ship to be constructed with an angled flight deck. Delays in construction and integrating the enhancements meant that the carrier was not commissioned until 1955.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" never fired a shot in anger during her service career, having only peripheral, non-combat roles in relation to the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and the Vietnam War. She was, however, involved in two major collisions with allied vessels; though "Melbourne" was not found to be the primary cause of either incident. The first collision occurred on the evening of 10 February 1964, in which "Melbourne" rammed and sank the RAN destroyer , when the latter altered course across her bow. 82 of "Voyager"s personnel were killed, and two Royal Commissions were held to investigate the incident. The second collision occurred in the early morning of 3 June 1969, when "Melbourne" also rammed the United States Navy (USN) destroyer in similar circumstances. 74 American personnel died, and a joint USN–RAN Board of Inquiry was held. These incidents, along with several minor collisions, shipboard accidents and aircraft losses, led to the belief that "Melbourne" was jinxed.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" was paid off from RAN service in 1982. A proposal to convert her for use as a floating casino failed, and a 1984 sale was cancelled, before she was sold for scrap in 1985 and towed to China for breaking. The scrapping was delayed so "Melbourne" could be studied by the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as part of a secret project to develop a Chinese aircraft carrier and used to train PLAN aviators in carrier flight operations.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" was constructed by Vickers-Armstrongs at their Naval Construction Yard in Barrow-in-Furness, North West England. The ship was laid down as HMS "Majestic" on 15 April 1943, and was launched on 28 February 1945 by Lady Anderson, the wife of Sir John Anderson, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer. Following the end of World War II, the Admiralty ordered the suspension of many British shipbuilding projects, including the fitting out of "Majestic" and her five sister ships. Construction resumed in 1946, and major modifications to the design were incorporated.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: A review by the Australian Government's Defence Committee held after recommended that the post-war forces of the RAN be structured around a Task Force incorporating multiple aircraft carriers. Initial plans were for three carriers, with two active and a third in reserve, although funding cuts led to the purchase of only two carriers in June 1947: "Majestic" and sister ship HMS "Terrible", for the combined cost of AU£2.75 million, plus stores, fuel, and ammunition. As "Terrible" was the closer of the two ships to completion, she was finished without modification, and was commissioned into the RAN on 16 December 1948 as . Work progressed on "Majestic" at a slower rate, as she was upgraded with the latest technology and equipment. The "Colossus"-class carrier was loaned to the RAN from 13 November 1952 until 12 August 1955 to cover "Majestic"s absence.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: The "Majestic" experienced delays in its construction due to labour difficulties, late delivery of equipment, additional requirements for Australian operations and the prioritisation of the construction of merchant ships. Incorporation of new systems and enhancements caused the cost of the RAN carrier acquisition program to increase to AU£8.3 million. Construction and fitting out did not finish until October 1955. As the carrier neared completion, a commissioning crew was formed in Australia and first used to return "Vengeance" to the United Kingdom.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: The completed carrier was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS "Majestic" on 26 October 1955. Two days later, the ship was renamed "Melbourne" by Lady White, the wife of Sir Thomas White, the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and recommissioned.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: As the lead ship of the "Majestic"-class of light aircraft carriers, "Melbourne" was conceived as a modified version of the "Colossus"-class carrier, incorporating improvements in flight deck design and habitability. "Majestic"- and "Colossus"-class carriers were almost identical in hull design and both were considered subclasses of the "1942 design" light aircraft carrier program. These carriers were intended as "disposable warships": to be disposed of at the end of World War II or within three years of entering service.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" had a standard displacement of , which increased to at full load. At launch, the carrier was long overall, but this was increased by during a refit in 1969. She had a beam of , and a draught of . "Melbourne"s two propellers were driven by two Parsons single-reduction geared turbine sets providing 40,000 shp, which were powered by four Admiralty 3-drum boilers. The carrier could achieve a top speed of , and a range of at or at . The size of the ship's company averaged 1,350 officers and sailors, including 350 personnel from the embarked Fleet Air Arm squadrons.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Following the recommencement of construction, modifications were made to the ship, based on wartime experience and Britain's post-war carrier warfare technology and innovations. These included an angled flight deck, steam catapult and a mirror landing aid, making "Melbourne" the third aircraft carrier (following and ) to be constructed with these features, instead of having them added later.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: The main modifications centred around the need to operate jet aircraft, which were larger and heavier than those propeller-driven aircraft that the carrier was originally designed for. The flight deck was angled 5.5 degrees left of the carrier's centreline, to allow for the simultaneous launch and recovery of aircraft. Despite an increase to approximately one acre (4,000 square metres, 4,800 square yards) in area, the deck was still significantly smaller than other Cold War era carriers; S-2 Trackers, with their wingspan, had less than a metre's clearance for their starboard wingtip when landing, and pilots from other navies often refused to attempt landing. Water rationing was required in the early years of the carrier's operation, as the ship's fresh water supply was insufficient to freely provide for the steam catapult, propulsion turbines and crew. The flight deck, hangar deck and aircraft lifts were strengthened, and reinforced arrestor cables were installed. Flight direction radar was included, making "Melbourne" the only military airfield in the Australasian region at the time capable of operating aircraft at night and in poor weather.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Early in her career, "Melbourne" underwent a series of short annual refits, commencing in September and ending in January or February of the next year. As time passed, the refits increased in duration or were replaced by major upgrades or overhauls.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne"s first major refit started in December 1967 and continued until February 1969, during which she was upgraded to operate S-2 Tracker and A-4 Skyhawk aircraft. The modifications cost A$8.5 million, and included an overhaul of the hull and machinery, strengthening of the flight deck, improvements to the catapult and arrestor cables, modification of the aviation fuel systems and flight control arrangements, and upgrades of the navigational aids and radar. Air conditioning systems and a liquid oxygen generation plant were also installed. "Melbourne" re-entered service at the conclusion of the refits on 14 February, and performed sea trials in Jervis Bay from 17 February until 5 May. This was the largest project undertaken by Garden Island Dockyard to that date.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: The next major refit was required in 1971 for the scheduled rebuilding of the catapult, which was only possible after components were sourced from and . The flight deck was again reinforced and strengthened, and attempts were made to increase the effectiveness of the air conditioning system installed in 1969. "Melbourne" had been designed to operate in North Atlantic and Arctic climates, and the original ventilation systems were inappropriate for her primary operating climate, the tropics. The 1969 and 1971 refits did improve conditions, although there was little scope for upgrade, and the system was still inadequate: temperatures inside the ship continued to reach over , and on one occasion a hold reached . The refit took seven months to complete, and cost A$2 million.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: More large-scale refits occurred throughout the rest of the 1970s. "Melbourne" was back in dock from November 1972 until August 1973, with further work done to her catapult. The next major refit ran from April 1975 to June 1976, and was intended to increase the operational lifespan of the carrier to at least 1985. The refit was lengthened by industrial action at the dockyard. "Melbourne" underwent another refit from late 1978 until August 1979. A refit scheduled to begin in late 1981 was postponed in September until a decision regarding the new carrier was made, then cancelled in January 1982, after the announcement that the RAN would be acquiring HMS "Invincible".


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" carried a defensive armament of anti-aircraft guns and an air group comprising both attack and anti-submarine aircraft. As the ship was never directly involved in a conflict, her weapons and embarked aircraft did not fire a shot in anger.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne"s initial armament included 25 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns: six twin and thirteen single mountings. The radar suite consisted of three Type 277Q height-finding sets, a Type 293Q surface search set, and a Type 978 navigational set. Between entering service and 1959, four of the single Bofors were removed.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: During the 1967–1969 refit, thirteen Bofors were removed, leaving four twin and four single mountings. The three 277Q radars were replaced with updated American and Dutch designs: a LW-02 air search set and a SPN-35 landing aid radar. A TACAN aerial and electronic countermeasures pods were also installed during this refit. The four Bofors twin mountings were removed in 1980.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" carried three Fleet Air Arm squadrons. Initially, she had up to 22 planes and 2 helicopters embarked at any time. The number of aircraft gradually increased until 1972, when the air group peaked at 27 aircraft. Approximately 350 Fleet Air Arm personnel were stationed aboard the carrier.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Initially, two types of fixed-wing aircraft were operated from "Melbourne". de Havilland Sea Venom FAW.53 fighter aircraft were flown by 805 Squadron RAN and 808 Squadron RAN, while Fairey Gannet anti-submarine strike aircraft were operated by 816 Squadron RAN and 817 Squadron RAN. At the time of their arrival, the Sea Venoms were the only radar equipped and all-weather combat aircraft in the Southern Hemisphere. At "Melbourne"s commissioning, the standard air group consisted of eight Sea Venoms and two squadrons of eight Gannets, with two Bristol Sycamore search-and-rescue helicopters added shortly after the carrier entered service.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: These aircraft were due to become obsolete in the late 1950s, and the RAN considered purchasing modern aircraft of French or Italian design, which were better suited to light carrier operations than equivalent British aircraft, or replace "Melbourne" with a larger carrier. Instead of pursuing either alternative, the Australian government announced in 1959 that "Melbourne" would be reconfigured during her 1963 refit to operate as a helicopter carrier. The fixed-wing aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm were marked for replacement by 27 Westland Wessex anti-submarine helicopters. A reduction of embarked plane numbers to four Sea Venoms and six Gannets, along with regular rotation and careful use of the aircraft, extended their service life until the mid-1960s, while the size of the air group was maintained by carrying up to ten Wessex helicopters. The decision to retire the fixed-wing component of the Fleet Air Arm was rescinded in 1963, and on 10 November 1964, a AU£212 million increase in defence spending included the purchase of new aircraft for "Melbourne".


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: The RAN planned to acquire 14 Grumman S-2E Tracker anti-submarine aircraft, and modernise "Melbourne" to operate the aircraft. The acquisition of 18 Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers was also suggested, but these were dropped from the initial plan. A separate proposal to order 10 A-4G Skyhawks, a variant of the Skyhawk designed specifically for the RAN and optimised for air defence, was approved in 1965. Both aircraft types entered RAN service in 1968, with the Trackers operated by 816 Squadron RAN and 851 Squadron RAN, and the Skyhawks by 805 Squadron RAN and 724 Squadron RAN. The aircraft did not fly from "Melbourne" until the conclusion of her refit in 1969. In 1969, the RAN purchased another ten A-4G Skyhawks, instead of the proposed seventh and eighth "Oberon"-class submarines. "Melbourne" operated a standard air group of four Skyhawks, six Trackers, and ten Wessex helicopters until 1972, when the Wessexes were replaced with ten Westland Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters and the number of Skyhawks doubled. Although replaced by the Sea King, up to three Wessex helicopters could be carried as search-and-rescue aircraft.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: On 5 December 1976, a fire at the Naval Air Station destroyed or heavily damaged 12 of the Fleet Air Arm's 13 S-2E Trackers. The carrier was sent to the United States in 1977 to transport back 16 S-2G Tracker aircraft as replacements.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Over the course of her career, over thirty aircraft were either lost or heavily damaged while operating from "Melbourne". The majority of the aircraft ditched or crashed over the side, but some losses were due to catapult or arrestor cable failures. After "Melbourne" was decommissioned, the Fleet Air Arm ceased fixed-wing combat aircraft operation in 1984, with the final Tracker flight saluting the decommissioned carrier.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" was the third and final conventional aircraft carrier to operate with the RAN. Following the first decommissioning of sister ship in 1958, "Melbourne" became the only aircraft carrier in Australian service. "Melbourne" was unavailable to provide air cover for the RAN for up to four months in every year; this time was required for refits, refuelling, personnel leave, and non-carrier duties, such as the transportation of troops or aircraft. Although one of the largest ships to serve in the RAN, "Melbourne" was one of the smallest carriers to operate in the post-World War II period. A decision was made in 1959 to restrict "Melbourne"s role to helicopter operations only, but was reversed shortly before its planned 1963 implementation.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: As well as an operational aircraft carrier, "Melbourne" was Flagship of the RAN, a role she received almost immediately following her 1956 arrival in Australia, and fulfilled until her decommissioning in 1982. During her service, the carrier was deployed overseas on 35 occasions, visited over 22 countries, and was seen as the physical and psychological centrepiece of the RAN fleet.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: As "Melbourne" was the only ship of her size (both in dimensions and ship's company) in the RAN, the carrier underwent a regular rotation of commanding officers to give them experience. Commanding officers were changed on average every fifteen months, with few remaining on board for more than two years. The majority of "Melbourne"s commanders later reached flag rank. The carrier was also called on to perform underway replenishments and command and control functions.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Following a working-up period in British waters, "Melbourne" departed Glasgow on 11 March 1956 on her maiden voyage to Australia via the Suez Canal. Aboard were the 64 aircraft of RAN squadrons 808, 816, and 817, as well as the racing yacht "Samuel Pepys" (named after the English naval administrator and diarist), which was a gift to the RAN Sailing Association from the Royal Navy. The ship visited Gibraltar, Naples, Malta, Port Said, Aden, and Colombo, before arriving in Fremantle on 24 April 1956. "Melbourne" sailed east via the Great Australian Bight, meeting sister ship near Kangaroo Island a week later. After visiting Melbourne and Jervis Bay, where the aircraft were offloaded and sent to Naval Air Station , the carrier concluded her maiden voyage in Sydney on 10 May. The role of flagship was transferred from "Sydney" to "Melbourne" three days later. The carrier immediately underwent a two and a half-month refit, allowing for the inspection of machinery and repair of defects detected during the maiden voyage. "Melbourne" spent from September to November in Southeast Asian waters, during which she participated in Exercise Albatross and received an official visit by Philippines president Ramon Magsaysay. On return to Australia in mid-November, the carrier visited Melbourne for the 1956 Olympics, where 200 of "Melbourne"s complement were provided to work as signallers, event marshals, carpenters, and medical workers.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: In February 1957, "Melbourne" was sent to the Royal Hobart Regatta. Following this, she travelled to New Zealand, where she participated in exercises with HMNZS "Royalist" and visited several New Zealand ports. The first of several annual three-month deployments to Southeast Asia as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve began in April, with "Melbourne" returning to Darwin at the end of June. The carrier spent the rest of the year visiting Australian ports for open inspections by the public. During the visit to Port Adelaide, on 28 October 1957, "Melbourne" was slightly damaged when she was struck by MV "Straat Lanka"—the first of several minor collisions the carrier would experience throughout her career. Operations for the year concluded with participation in Exercise Astrolabe off Lord Howe Island, with ships from the RAN, Royal Navy, and Royal New Zealand Navy, before returning to Sydney on 13 December.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: From February until July 1958, "Melbourne" was deployed on a flag-showing cruise. During this cruise the carrier participated in four inter-fleet exercises and visited Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Pearl Harbor and Fiji. On return to Sydney, "Melbourne" entered a short refit, which concluded on 13 October and was immediately followed by a visit to Port Phillip, where the carrier was displayed to Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force officer cadets before the carrier returned to Sydney. At the start of 1959, "Melbourne" spent four days in her namesake city, where she was used for the filming of "On The Beach", based on Nevil Shute's post-apocalyptic novel of the same name. After filming concluded, the carrier participated in a demonstration exercise off the coast of Sydney before embarking on a Far East Strategic Reserve deployment from March until May. The rest of the year was spent visiting Australian and New Zealand ports.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: The following year, 1960, was a bad year for the carrier's air group, with four Sea Venoms and two Gannets damaged in separate incidents aboard "Melbourne". All four Sea Venom incidents occurred in March, with three attributed to aircrew error and one to brake failure. The year began with exercises en route to Adelaide, followed by a visit to the Royal Hobart Regatta. The carrier's Strategic Reserve deployment ran from April to June, and was followed by manoeuvres along the east coast of Australia until September. In the lead up to "Melbourne"s 1961 deployment to the Strategic Reserve, the carrier visited Bombay, Karachi, and Trincomalee. It was the first time a flagship of the RAN had entered Indian waters. "Melbourne" returned to Australia in June, and on 15 June led several ships in a ceremonial entry to Sydney Harbour to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the RAN. In August, "Melbourne" was called upon to lead Exercise Tuckerbox, in the Coral Sea. Following the conclusion of Tuckerbox, the carrier visited several New Zealand ports before returning to Sydney for demonstration exercises and public relations activities.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: In 1962, "Melbourne" began the year's activities at the Royal Hobart Regatta, before sailing to her Strategic Reserve deployment, by way of Adelaide and Fremantle. After Strategic Reserve duties were completed, the carrier visited Japan, Guam, and Manus Island before returning to Sydney in late July. In September, "Melbourne" reprised her role as the leader of Exercise Tuckerbox II. The 10,000th catapult launch from "Melbourne" occurred in late 1962. The carrier's annual refit began in Sydney on 1 October. At the beginning of 1963, "Melbourne" again visited to the Royal Hobart Regatta, which was immediately followed by a deployment to the Strategic Reserve, including involvement in SEATO Exercise Sea Serpent. The 20,000th landing on "Melbourne" was performed in April by a Gannet, and in September, "Melbourne" participated in Exercise Carbine near Hervey Bay, Queensland.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: On 10 February 1964, "Melbourne" was performing trials in Jervis Bay under the command of Captain John Robertson, following the annual refit. The "Daring"-class destroyer was also present, undergoing her own trials following refit, under the command of Captain Duncan Stevens. The trials involved interactions between both ships, and when "Melbourne" performed night-flying exercises that evening, "Voyager" acted as the carrier's plane guard escort. This required "Voyager" to maintain a position 20° off "Melbourne"s port quarter at a distance from the carrier of .


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Early in the evening, "Voyager" had no difficulties maintaining her position during the manoeuvres both ships performed. Following a series of turns intended to reverse the courses of both ships beginning at 8:40 pm, "Voyager" ended up to starboard of "Melbourne". At 8:52 pm, "Voyager" was ordered to resume the plane guard station. The procedure to accomplish this required "Voyager" to turn away from "Melbourne" in a large circle, cross behind the carrier, then take position off "Melbourne"s port side. Instead, "Voyager" first turned to starboard, away from "Melbourne", then turned to port without warning. It was initially assumed by "Melbourne"s bridge crew that "Voyager" was conducting a series of tight turns to lose speed before swinging behind "Melbourne", but "Voyager" did not alter course again. At 8:55 pm, with "Voyager" approaching, "Melbourne"s navigator ordered the carrier's engines to half astern speed, with Robertson ordering an increase to full astern a few seconds later. At the same time, Stevens, having just become aware of the situation, gave the order "Full ahead both engines. Hard-a starboard.", before instructing the destroyer's Quartermaster to announce that a collision was imminent. Both ships' measures were too late to avoid a collision; "Melbourne" hit "Voyager" at 8:56 pm.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" struck "Voyager" just aft of the destroyer's bridge, rolling the destroyer to starboard before cutting her in half. "Voyager"s forward boiler exploded, briefly setting fire to the bow of the carrier before it was extinguished by seawater. The destroyer's forward section sank quickly, under the weight of the two gun turrets. The aft section did not begin sinking until half an hour after the collision, completely submerging just after midnight. Messages were immediately sent to the Fleet Headquarters in Sydney, although staff in Sydney initially underestimated the extent of the damage to "Voyager". "Melbourne" launched her boats to recover survivors, and the carrier's wardroom and C Hangar were prepared for casualties. At 9:58 pm, "Melbourne" was informed that search-and-rescue boats from , helicopters from , and five "Ton"-class minesweepers had been despatched to assist in the search.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" arrived in Sydney with the survivors on 14 February, and after spending time alongside at Garden Island, was moved to Cockatoo Island Dockyard on 25 March, where repairs were undertaken; the damaged section of the bow was cut away and repairs to the ship's internal structure were undertaken in drydock, while a 40-ton prefabricated bow was constructed. Once this was completed, "Melbourne" was removed while the new bow was put in place in the drydock. The work was completed on 27 April, with the shipyard receiving a commendation.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Of the 314 personnel aboard "Voyager" at the time of the collision, 14 officers, 67 sailors, and 1 civilian dockyard worker were killed, including Stevens and all but two of the bridge team. A Royal Commission into the events of the collision was held in 1964, and found that while "Voyager"'s crew was primarily at fault for neglecting to maintain an effective lookout and awareness of the larger ship's location, "Melbourne"s bridge crew was also at fault, for failing to alert "Voyager" and not taking measures to avoid the collision. Robertson was posted to the training base —a move that he and the Australian media saw as tantamount to a demotion—but resigned instead. The Royal Commission and its aftermath were poorly handled, and following pressure from the public, media, and politicians, combined with revelations by "Voyager"s former executive officer that Stevens may have been unfit for command, a second Royal Commission was opened in 1967. This is the only time in Australian history two Royal Commissions have been held for a single incident. The second commission found that Stevens was medically unfit for command and that some of the findings of the first Royal Commission were therefore based on incorrect assumptions. Robertson and the other officers of "Melbourne" were absolved of blame for the incident.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" spent ten weeks at Cockatoo Island Dockyard, having her new bow fitted. Following the repairs, "Melbourne" was involved in Strategic Reserve deployments and exercises in Southeast Asia from June until September 1964. During this deployment, the carrier visited Subic Bay, where the RAN performed flight deck trials with S-2 Tracker anti-submarine aircraft and A-4 Skyhawk attack fighters. The success of the trials, along with the discovery that "Melbourne" was able to operate both aircraft with relatively minor modification, led the Australian Government to approve the purchase of these aircraft.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: From March 1965 until mid-1967, "Melbourne" underwent a regular pattern of deployments to Southeast Asia, exercises, and flag-showing visits to nations in the Asia-Pacific region. Several of the Southeast Asian deployments were related to the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, and involved participation in show of force exercises off the coast of Malaysia. During 1965 and 1966, "Melbourne" escorted sister ship , which had been recommissioned as a troop transport, for short periods during the latter's first, third, and fourth transport voyages to Vietnam. Despite the carrier being the centrepiece of several plans to involve Australian forces in the Vietnam War, the escort runs were the extent of "Melbourne"s participation in the conflict, and the carrier remained outside the Market Time area while "Sydney" and her other escorts proceeded to Vũng Tàu. As the carrier was optimised for anti-submarine warfare, there was little need for her at the start of the war. Utilising the carrier was suggested again by RAN officials in March 1966, when the United States Seventh Fleet was having difficulties maintaining anti-submarine patrols around Yankee Station, but "Melbourne" could only remain on station for a single, ten-day period, a third of the time that US carriers were operational for on rotating deployments. Seventh Fleet staff suggested in April 1967 that "Melbourne" deploy in the anti-submarine role, but nothing came of these talks. Consideration was also given to using "Melbourne" as a floating helicopter base, but only ten Wessex helicopters could be provided, and modifications were required for them to operate as troop carriers. Both options were made more prohibitive by the need to supply at least two escorts for the carrier at a time when the RAN was having difficulty meeting deployment commitments with the available destroyers and destroyer escorts.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: In September 1967, "Melbourne" travelled to the United States to collect new aircraft: 14 Trackers and 10 Skyhawks. To operate the new aircraft, the carrier received a major refit on her return to Sydney, which began in December 1967. In May 1967, it was proposed that while "Melbourne" was out of service, A-4 Skyhawk pilots and maintenance personnel could be attached to a United States Marine Corps Skyhawk squadron in South Vietnam. Australian aircraft were not to be provided, as the A-4G Skyhawks used by the RAN were optimised for air defence, not the fighter-bomber role performed by the Marines, and would have suffered heavy losses from North Vietnam's heavy anti-aircraft defences. This deployment did not occur; the Skyhawk pilot training program was experiencing delays because US squadrons were being shipped training equipment and replacement parts in priority to the RAN, and sending qualified pilots overseas would have caused further holdups with the program, while also disrupting "Melbourne"s post-refit reactivation. "Melbourne" re-entered service at the conclusion of the refit on 14 February 1969. She performed sea trials in Jervis Bay from 17 February until 5 May, then sailed for Subic Bay, Philippines, to participate in SEATO Exercise Sea Spirit.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne"s commanding officer during the SEATO exercise was Captain John Phillip Stevenson. Rear Admiral John Crabb, the Flag Officer Commanding Australian Fleet, was also embarked on the carrier. During Sea Spirit, "Melbourne" was assigned five escorts: US Ships , , and , HMNZS "Blackpool", and . Stevenson held a dinner for the five escort captains at the start of the exercise, during which he recounted the events of the "Melbourne"–"Voyager" collision, emphasised the need for caution when operating near the carrier, and provided written instructions on how to avoid such a situation developing again. Additionally, during the lead up to the exercise, Admiral Crabb had strongly warned that all repositioning manoeuvres performed by the escorts had to commence with a turn away from "Melbourne". Despite these warnings, a near-miss occurred in the early hours of 31 May when "Larson" turned towards the carrier after being ordered to the plane guard station. Subsequent action narrowly prevented a collision. The escorts were again warned about the dangers of operating near the carrier and informed of Stevenson's expectations, while the minimum distance between carrier and escorts was increased from .


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: On the night of 2–3 June 1969, "Melbourne" and her escorts were involved in anti-submarine training exercises in the South China Sea. In preparation for launching a Tracker, Stevenson ordered "Evans" to the plane guard station, reminded the destroyer of "Melbourne"s course, and instructed the carrier's navigational lights to be brought to full brilliance. "Evans" had performed the manoeuvre four times over the course of the night. "Evans" was positioned on "Melbourne"s port bow, but began the manoeuvre by turning starboard, towards the carrier. A radio message was sent from "Melbourne" to "Evans" bridge and Combat Information Centre, warning the destroyer that she was on a collision course, which "Evans" acknowledged. Seeing the destroyer take no action and on a course to place herself under "Melbourne"s bow, Stevenson ordered the carrier hard to port, signalling the turn by both radio and siren blasts. At approximately the same time, "Evans" turned hard to starboard to avoid the approaching carrier. It is uncertain which ship began to manoeuvre first, but each ship's bridge crew claimed that they were informed of the other ship's turn after they commenced their own. After having narrowly passed in front of "Melbourne", the turns quickly placed "Evans" back in the carrier's path. "Melbourne" hit "Evans" amidships at 3:15 am, cutting the destroyer in two.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Seventy-four of the 273 personnel from "Evans" were killed in the collision, with the majority of these believed to have been asleep or trapped inside the bow section, which sank within minutes. "Melbourne" deployed her boats, life rafts, and lifebuoys, before carefully manoeuvring alongside the stern section of "Evans", where both ships' crews used mooring lines to lash the ships together. Sailors from "Melbourne" dived from the flight deck into the water to rescue overboard survivors close to the carrier, while the carrier's boats and helicopters collected those farther out. All of the survivors were located within 12 minutes of the collision and rescued before half an hour had passed, although the search continued for fifteen more hours. After "Evans" stern was evacuated, it was cast off, while the carrier moved away to avoid damage. The stern did not sink, and was later recovered, stripped of parts, and sunk for target practice.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Following the collision, "Melbourne" travelled to Singapore for temporary repairs to her bow, arriving on 6 June. "Melbourne" departed Singapore on 27 June and arrived in Sydney on 9 July, where the carrier underwent almost identical repairs at Cockatoo Island Dockyard as in 1964 (primarily the installation of a new bow section). However, an industrial dispute amongst the shipyard workers meant that, although the work was completed in early September, the ship remained in the drydock until 11 October.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: A Joint RAN-USN board of inquiry was established to investigate the incident, and was in session over June and July 1969. The board found "Evans" partially at fault for the collision, but also faulted "Melbourne" for not taking evasive action sooner, even though international sea regulations dictated that in the lead-up to a collision, the larger ship was required to maintain course and speed. It was learned during the inquiry that "Evans" commanding officer was asleep in his quarters at the time of the incident, and charge of the vessel was held by Lieutenants Ronald Ramsey and James Hopson; the former had failed the qualification exam to stand watch, while the latter was at sea for the first time. Subsequent to the inquiry, the three USN officers and Stevenson were court-martialled by their respective navies on charges of negligence, with the three USN officers found guilty and Stevenson 'Honourably Acquitted'. Despite the findings, Stevenson's next posting was as a minor flag officer's chief of staff, seen by him as a demotion in all but name. In a repeat of the aftermath of the "Voyager" collision, "Melbourne"s captain resigned amid accusations of scapegoating. In December 2012, Stevenson announced that he had received a letter from the Minister for Defence, apologising for his treatment by the RAN and the government of the day.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: During the 1970s and early 1980s, replacing parts became an increasing problem. Components were failing due to wear and age, but the companies responsible for manufacturing the parts had gone out of business during the previous twenty years, sometimes immediately after World War II ended. The carrier's engineers often resorted to making replacements from scratch. The ship's catapult was replaced with parts from the decommissioned HMCS Bonaventure in 1970.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: In 1970, "Melbourne" participated in three major inter-navy exercises: Sea Rover with SEATO forces in the South China Sea, Bersatu Padu with British Commonwealth forces off Malaysia, and Swan Lake with the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy off Western Australia. During this year, the carrier also visited Japan to participate in Expo '70, and was hit by Manly ferry "South Steyne" while alongside at Garden Island, causing minor damage to both vessels. "Melbourne" was out of service for most of 1971 while she underwent refits, which concluded in early August. In mid-1971, the Australian military's Joint Planning Committee considered using "Melbourne" as a transport to help complete the withdrawal of the Australian Task Force from Vietnam before the end of 1971. While the Army supported this proposal, the Navy successfully argued against its implementation, claiming that transporting troops and cargo would be misusing Australia's only active aircraft carrier, and would prevent "Melbourne" from participating in several major multi-national exercises. The refit concluded in late 1971, with the carrier participating in the first RIMPAC exercise, RIMPAC 71, before the end of the year.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Operations in 1972 commenced with a three-month deployment to Southeast Asia. During this deployment, "Melbourne" led a fleet of 17 ships from the RAN, Royal Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, US Navy, Philippine Navy, and Royal Thai Navy in Exercise Sea Hawk. This was followed by goodwill visits to numerous Southeast Asian ports, including Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, and Surabaya, before "Melbourne" returned to Sydney at the end of April. The carrier spent May performing exercises off the New South Wales coast, during which she was called on to rescue three fisherman who had been stranded at sea for the previous two days. In August, "Melbourne" sailed for Hawaii to participate in RIMPAC 72. At the conclusion of this exercise, "Melbourne" proceeded to Japan on a diplomatic visit, then sailed to the Philippines to exercise with SEATO ships. During this deployment, a fire ignited inside the ship's main switchboard. The carrier returned to Australia on 27 November after 101 days at sea, and underwent a seven-month refit. On 24 August 1973, "Melbourne" returned to Hawaii to participate in RIMPAC 73. She returned to Australia on 12 October, but sailed out ten days later to participate in Exercise Leadline off Malaysia, before reaching Sydney again in December.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: "Melbourne" began 1974 by transporting 120 Australian soldiers to a temporary assignment with an American infantry battalion based in Hawaii. She then sailed to San Francisco to collect 12 new Chinook and five UH-1 Iroquois helicopters for the Royal Australian Air Force, arriving in Australia with her cargo in April. In June, the carrier took part in Exercise Kangaroo in the Coral Sea, before returning to Sydney in July. On 11 July, the passenger liner SS "Australis" hit and damaged "Melbourne" in Sydney Harbour. In November, the carrier took part in disaster relief exercises. These were prophetic, as on the night of 24–25 December 1974, Cyclone Tracy destroyed the city of Darwin. "Melbourne"s ship's company was recalled immediately from leave, the ship was loaded with supplies, and the carrier departed Sydney on 26 December in the company of . "Melbourne", "Brisbane", and eleven other ships were deployed as part of the largest peacetime rescue effort ever organised by the RAN: Operation Navy Help Darwin. "Melbourne" remained off Darwin until 18 January 1975, acting as operational headquarters and a helicopter base. During this operation, the seven Wessex helicopters embarked on "Melbourne" performed 2,493 flights, carrying 7,824 passengers and 107 tons of cargo.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Following Navy Help Darwin, "Melbourne" participated in RIMPAC 75, then returned to Sydney for a fourteen-month refit, which was delayed by industrial action at the dockyard. While moored in Sydney Harbour, on 24 July, "Melbourne" was struck by Japanese cargo ship "Blue Andromeda". While working up following the refit, "Melbourne" and provided assistance to MV "Miss Chief" off the coast of Bundaberg, Queensland on 16 August 1976. In October, "Melbourne" participated in Exercise Kangaroo II, before sailing to her namesake city for the carrier's 21st birthday celebrations, then returning to Sydney on 5 November.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: On 5 December 1976, a fire deliberately lit at by a member of the Fleet Air Arm damaged or destroyed all but one of Australia's S-2 Trackers. Following participation in RIMPAC 77, "Melbourne" was sent to San Diego to collect replacement aircraft. Arriving back in Sydney on 5 April, the carrier was sent on a five-month deployment to the United Kingdom on 28 April, accompanied by and . En route, "Melbourne" lost a Sea King in the Indian Ocean on 9 May, with the aircrew recovered by "Brisbane". A Tracker from "Melbourne" located the disabled Dutch vessel "Impala Princess" in the Gulf of Aden on 25 May and directed a French destroyer to assist. Two Bofors naval guns were deposited by "Melbourne" at Souda Bay, Crete on 2 June, marking the first visit of an Australian warship to Crete since June 1941. These weapons were donated to the Australian War Memorial at Stavromenos, in Crete's Rethymno regional unit. The highlight of the deployment saw the three ships represent Australia and New Zealand at the Silver Jubilee Naval Review on 28 June 1977. A two-seat Harrier jump jet demonstrator undertook a series of trial takeoffs and landings aboard "Melbourne" on 30 June: a trial organised as part of the project overseeing the ship's potential replacement. Following the Jubilee Review and participation in Exercise Highwood in July, "Melbourne" and her escorts returned to Australia, arriving in Fremantle on 19 September and Sydney on 4 October. "Melbourne" was docked in Garden Island's drydock on arrival, where she remained until January 1978.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: At the end of March 1978, "Melbourne" left Sydney for RIMPAC 78. During this exercise, "Melbourne" acquired the nickname 'Little M' after working with 'Big E' —the smallest and largest aircraft carriers (respectively) in operation at the time. On return in July, the carrier entered a major refit, which continued until 3 August 1979. During this refit, on 3 March, a boiler explosion caused minor damage to the carrier. The remainder of the year involved participation in three exercises, Tasmanex off Wellington, New Zealand, Sea Eagle I in the Tasman Sea, and Kangaroo III in the Coral Sea. During Tasmanex, "Melbourne" lost her LW-02 radar aerial and a Skyhawk (N13-154907), both of which fell overboard during heavy seas.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: During February and March 1980, "Melbourne" participated in RIMPAC 80, as the flagship of Battle Group Two. This was immediately followed by a visit to the Solomon Islands in early April. The carrier was in Sydney from mid-April until mid-August, during which the 25th anniversary of "Melbourne"s service in the RAN was celebrated on 15 August with a cocktail party aboard the carrier, popularly referred to as 'The Night of the Admirals'. On 18 August, "Melbourne" sailed for Fremantle to participate in Exercise Sandgroper 80. On 8 September, "Melbourne", accompanied by , , , , and deployed to the Indian Ocean as the Australian Squadron for a flag-showing cruise. During this cruise two Skyhawks were lost: on 2 and 21 October. On 24 October, a Tracker from "Melbourne" observed Soviet warships "Storozhevoy" and "Ivan Rogov" shadowing the squadron. The squadron's return in November 1980 concluded the largest and longest RAN deployment since World War II.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Following her return, the carrier spent six months in Australian waters, before a two-month deployment to Southeast Asia. During this deployment, on 21 June 1981, "Melbourne" rescued 99 Vietnamese refugees from a disabled fishing vessel in the South China Sea. The carrier's deployments for the second half of the year consisted of two exercises, Sea Hawk and Kangaroo 81. A major refit scheduled to begin in late 1981 was postponed pending the decision on a replacement carrier. After docking at Garden Island in December, the carrier was accidentally flooded by an officer who was impatient to commence leave. In his haste to shut down the carrier, he failed to deactivate the water pumps, and over 180 tons of fresh water were pumped in before a maintenance party discovered the flooding the next day. "Melbourne" remained in dock at the start of 1982, and did not leave before the decision regarding her replacement was made.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: A replacement for "Melbourne" was under consideration as early as 1956, and the question was revisited on several occasions until the 1980s. In every situation, a new aircraft carrier was turned down due to the increases in manpower and operating costs required to operate the ship when compared to "Melbourne".


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Between 1956 and 1959, the RAN considered acquiring a larger carrier to replace "Melbourne", as the Fleet Air Arm was becoming obsolete and the RAN did not believe the ship could be modified to operate newer, heavier aircraft. Under consideration were British carrier and a ship of the United States' "Essex" class. Both options were turned down, and it was instead proposed to operate "Melbourne" as a helicopter carrier.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: In 1960, the United States Navy offered an "Essex"-class carrier to the Australian government, in the interest of improving relations between the two nations and their navies. The only cost to the RAN would have been the modifications required to make the carrier operationally compatible with the RAN's primarily British-designed fleet. In the late 1960s, the British made a similar offer, following a 1966 review indicating that was a superfluous naval unit. In 1968, "Hermes" took part in a combined exercise with the RAN, during which the carrier was visited by RAN and Australian government officials, while RAN Skyhawks and Trackers practised landings on the larger carrier. Both offers were turned down due to operating and manpower costs.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: The need to secure a replacement for "Melbourne" grew as the carrier's age caused the operating costs to increase to over A$25 million per year. In June 1977, the Defence Force Development Committee approved an investigation into acquiring a STOVL/helicopter carrier. By August 1979, the decision was limited to three ships: a modified American "Iwo Jima"-class amphibious assault ship, an Italian "Giuseppe Garibaldi"-class carrier, and a Sea Control Ship design that later became the Spanish Navy's "Principe de Asturias". By February 1981, the "Iwo Jima" class was the preferred option.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Plans to replace "Melbourne" changed in July 1981; the British 1981 Defence White Paper had marked the recently commissioned as surplus to requirements, and she was offered to the RAN for the 'bargain' price of GB£175 million (A$285 million). The "Invincible" class had been considered and discarded during the investigation, but the decreased price and the fact the already-constructed carrier would be ready for RAN service in 1983 prompted the Australian government to announce its intention to purchase "Invincible" on 25 February 1982 and close the carrier acquisition program. The government also announced that the ship would be renamed and operated as a helicopter carrier, and that a decision on the purchase of fixed wing aircraft would be made after acquisition.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: The deal was put on hold in April 1982, following the outbreak of the Falklands War. The performance of "Invincible" and other Royal Navy aircraft carriers during the conflict showed that the report which suggested reductions in the size of Britain's carrier fleet—with the follow-on effect of making "Invincible" available for sale—was flawed, and both sides withdrew from the deal in July. The RAN was again offered HMS "Hermes", and again declined due to the carrier's age and manpower requirements. The Australian government began to reconsider the previous contenders for replacement, as well as considering requesting the United Kingdom or United States to build a simple carrier capable of operating F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters, but the issue was suspended at the commencement of the 1983 Australian Federal Election. On 14 March, following the election of Bob Hawke's Labor Government, the announcement was made that "Melbourne" would not be replaced.


title: HMAS Melbourne (R21)

text: Following the decision to replace "Melbourne" with HMS "Invincible", the postponed refit was cancelled outright. The Australian carrier was prepared for disposal, and was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 30 June 1982. She was towed to the mooring dolphins near Bradley's Head, where she remained until 1985. "Melbourne" was capable of being reactivated as a helicopter-equipped anti-submarine warfare carrier within 26 weeks, but was never required to do so. A Sydney-based group proposed in 1984 to purchase "Melbourne" and operate her as a floating casino moored in international waters off Eden, New South Wales, but nothing came of this. "Melbourne"s air wing was disbanded at HMAS "Albatross" on 2 July 1982, with the transfer of 805 Squadron's Skyhawks to 724 Squadron and 816 Squadron being absorbed into 851 Squadron. The Skyhawks remained in service as fleet support aircraft until 30 June 1984, while the Trackers were withdrawn from service on 31 August 1984 after being used as land-based maritime patrol aircraft.