HMAS Melbourne (R21) - Replacement

Replacement

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.

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 HMS Albion 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.

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 HMS Hermes 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 practiced landings on the larger carrier. Both offers were turned down due to operating and manpower costs.

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.