Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 15, 2023 14:46:39 GMT 12
An interesting article on the new RNZN cruiser Royalist's first exercise at home, with the RAN carrier HMAS Melbourne, from the Press dated 22 February 1957.
Naval Exercises Off Canterbury Coast
The greatest demonstration of modern warfare techniques ever carried out in New Zealand waters took place yesterday when the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new atomic-age cruiser, Royalist, exercised in Pegasus Bay with the aircraft-carrier H.M.A.S. Melbourne and her escorting fast anti-submarine frigate, H.M.A.S. Quadrant.
Deep-bellied turbo-prop Gannet anti-submarine aircraft and sleek Sea Venom fighters from the carrier brought the jet age to the operation as the Gannets simulated attacks with bombs, rockets, and even more modern projectiles, and the fighters, travelling at 500 miles an hour, sought to prevent them coming within striking distance of the naval elements.
This was the Royalist’s first major exercise in her new home waters, and her role as the most modern and hard-hitting cruiser in the British Commonwealth was the centre of interest. From his air direction operations room (sealed against atomic fall-out), the commander (Captain Peter Phipps) deployed the fighters at very long range with radar equipment which will sort friend from foe in aerial combat, and meanwhile the Royalist’s mass of secret electronic equipment automatically trained her heavy guns on targets well over 10 miles away.
Except when the attacking aircraft were allowed through to test the close-range armament and exercise the gun crews and spotters in visual work, there was little evidence of an engagement at the speeds of modern warfare. That is the objective of the £5,000,000 refitting which the Royalist underwent before delivery to the Royal New Zealand Navy. Her role is to see a threat and intercept it long before any attacking force comes within visual range. In every respect the exercise was pronounced a gratifying success.
Rendezvous at Sea
Less than two hours out from Lyttelton, the Royalist made rendezvous with the Australian warships and, from a distance of 1000 yards, those on board watched the carrier’s catapult launch the Gannets and Venoms into the air. A helicopter kept station off the bow in case of mishap. During the morning the Royalist carried out air direction tests beyond the horizon as she deployed the aircraft in patrol sweeps, and other divisions on board had practice in long-range air detection.
About midday the Melbourne landed her aircraft — a tricky operation for machines of such speed—but all dropped on board with the utmost simplicity. The Melbourne has an angled flight deck 600 ft long which obviates the need for crash barriers, as aircraft are parked to the side. If a pilot misses the arrester wires, he can simply fly off on another circuit.
New Landing Device
Another innovation is the removal of the air signals officer or “bat-man.” Four lights, shining into a highly-polished aluminium mirror, reflect back as one spot to an approaching pilot if his landing angle is correct in relation to a fixed bar of lights or the mirror. He can thus tell instantly whether he is too low or too high. The catapult launches aircraft in a distance of 120 feet and, from a distance, it seemed that they landed in little more, so swiftly were they stopped by the arrester wires.
The afternoon brought much air activity. Six Gannets, simulating a force of strikers, flew off the Melbourne (by then 40 miles away) and were engaged by Venoms directed from the Royalist. Interception succeeded. The attackers were then allowed through to reach the cruiser. The Royalist’s four big turrets of twin 5.25 in guns, each independently and automatically controlled by radar, recorded many hits, some operations in the turrets taking as little as seven-tenths of a second.
The Gannets were then allowed up to the ship and in screaming power dives made mass attacks. Visual and short-range electronic spotting devices took control of the Royalist’s secondary armament of anti-aircraft guns and twin-Bofors (called STAAGS —stabilised tachometric anti-aircraft guns) pumped out 40 millimetre break-up shells at the rate of 240 a minute. Single 40 millimetre Bofors tracked the attackers by aural and visual control in this exercise. One tachometer box alone cost £20,000.
After all this excitement Captain Phipps talked of simpler things as he returned to harbour. He nostalgically recalled his boyhood boating and camping round Lyttelton — “my old stamping grounds.” As his guests on this day at sea were many old friends of those days, but on this occasion they represented the Canterbury Division of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve, Sea Cadets, the Navy League, Lyttelton Harbour Board, the Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The visitors must have numbered at least 50. “It’s a blooming floating boarding house today,” said one of the Royalist’s ratings, more intent on the more serious business of training.
Naval Exercises Off Canterbury Coast
The greatest demonstration of modern warfare techniques ever carried out in New Zealand waters took place yesterday when the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new atomic-age cruiser, Royalist, exercised in Pegasus Bay with the aircraft-carrier H.M.A.S. Melbourne and her escorting fast anti-submarine frigate, H.M.A.S. Quadrant.
Deep-bellied turbo-prop Gannet anti-submarine aircraft and sleek Sea Venom fighters from the carrier brought the jet age to the operation as the Gannets simulated attacks with bombs, rockets, and even more modern projectiles, and the fighters, travelling at 500 miles an hour, sought to prevent them coming within striking distance of the naval elements.
This was the Royalist’s first major exercise in her new home waters, and her role as the most modern and hard-hitting cruiser in the British Commonwealth was the centre of interest. From his air direction operations room (sealed against atomic fall-out), the commander (Captain Peter Phipps) deployed the fighters at very long range with radar equipment which will sort friend from foe in aerial combat, and meanwhile the Royalist’s mass of secret electronic equipment automatically trained her heavy guns on targets well over 10 miles away.
Except when the attacking aircraft were allowed through to test the close-range armament and exercise the gun crews and spotters in visual work, there was little evidence of an engagement at the speeds of modern warfare. That is the objective of the £5,000,000 refitting which the Royalist underwent before delivery to the Royal New Zealand Navy. Her role is to see a threat and intercept it long before any attacking force comes within visual range. In every respect the exercise was pronounced a gratifying success.
Rendezvous at Sea
Less than two hours out from Lyttelton, the Royalist made rendezvous with the Australian warships and, from a distance of 1000 yards, those on board watched the carrier’s catapult launch the Gannets and Venoms into the air. A helicopter kept station off the bow in case of mishap. During the morning the Royalist carried out air direction tests beyond the horizon as she deployed the aircraft in patrol sweeps, and other divisions on board had practice in long-range air detection.
About midday the Melbourne landed her aircraft — a tricky operation for machines of such speed—but all dropped on board with the utmost simplicity. The Melbourne has an angled flight deck 600 ft long which obviates the need for crash barriers, as aircraft are parked to the side. If a pilot misses the arrester wires, he can simply fly off on another circuit.
New Landing Device
Another innovation is the removal of the air signals officer or “bat-man.” Four lights, shining into a highly-polished aluminium mirror, reflect back as one spot to an approaching pilot if his landing angle is correct in relation to a fixed bar of lights or the mirror. He can thus tell instantly whether he is too low or too high. The catapult launches aircraft in a distance of 120 feet and, from a distance, it seemed that they landed in little more, so swiftly were they stopped by the arrester wires.
The afternoon brought much air activity. Six Gannets, simulating a force of strikers, flew off the Melbourne (by then 40 miles away) and were engaged by Venoms directed from the Royalist. Interception succeeded. The attackers were then allowed through to reach the cruiser. The Royalist’s four big turrets of twin 5.25 in guns, each independently and automatically controlled by radar, recorded many hits, some operations in the turrets taking as little as seven-tenths of a second.
The Gannets were then allowed up to the ship and in screaming power dives made mass attacks. Visual and short-range electronic spotting devices took control of the Royalist’s secondary armament of anti-aircraft guns and twin-Bofors (called STAAGS —stabilised tachometric anti-aircraft guns) pumped out 40 millimetre break-up shells at the rate of 240 a minute. Single 40 millimetre Bofors tracked the attackers by aural and visual control in this exercise. One tachometer box alone cost £20,000.
After all this excitement Captain Phipps talked of simpler things as he returned to harbour. He nostalgically recalled his boyhood boating and camping round Lyttelton — “my old stamping grounds.” As his guests on this day at sea were many old friends of those days, but on this occasion they represented the Canterbury Division of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve, Sea Cadets, the Navy League, Lyttelton Harbour Board, the Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The visitors must have numbered at least 50. “It’s a blooming floating boarding house today,” said one of the Royalist’s ratings, more intent on the more serious business of training.
