Design
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 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.
Melbourne had a standard displacement of 15,740 long tons (17,630 short tons), which increased to 20,000 long tons (22,000 short tons) at full load. At launch, the carrier was 213.97 metres (702.0 ft) long overall, but this was increased by 2.43 metres (8.0 ft) during a refit in 1969. She had a beam of 24.38 metres (80.0 ft), and a draught of 7.62 metres (25.0 ft). 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 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph), and a range of 12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) or 6,200 nautical miles (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). The size of the ship's company averaged 1,350 officers and sailors, including 350 personnel from the embarked Fleet Air Arm squadrons.
Read more about this topic: HMAS Melbourne (R21)
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