ON this day in 1969 the Oberon Class submarine, HMAS Ovens, was commissioned at Greenock, Scotland.
The Oberons were initially ordered to counter the number of potentially hostile submarines venturing into the Asia Pacific region and in wartime to destroy them in transit.
During Ovens third commission she regularly deployed throughout the Pacific and to Hawaii where she was a frequent visitor and participant in the RIMPAC exercises. She was awarded her Mk 48 torpedo weapons certification in 1982 and in November 1985 she conducted the first of the RAN’s sub-surface firings of the Harpoon anti-ship missile, scoring a direct hit on a distant, small, remotely-controlled surface target on the US Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), near Hawaii
Ovens served in the RAN for 26 years. She decommissioned on 1 December 1995.
ON this day in 1941, the destroyers Stuart, Voyager and Waterhen were in action escorting the troop transport ship Glengyle, carrying the Number Seven Commando and a small detachment of the Royal Tank Regiment, for an amphibious raid on Bardia in North Africa. The raid commenced late evening on 19 April, with the troops being withdrawn just before dawn on the 20th and the raiding force returning to Alexandria.
ON this day in 1996 the RAN was re-establishing its presence in the Persian Gulf with the resumption of Operation DAMASK deployments. HMAS Melbourne (III) (Commander W.R. Haynes, RAN) was en-route to the Middle East having deployed on 10 April (Operation DAMASK VIII) and a Logistic Support Element (LSE) was being re-established in Bahrain under Lieutenant Commander Roland Van Geelen, RAN. The 3 person LSE performed important work supporting RAN ships which involved the processing of mail and cargo to and from Australia, arranging port visits as well as repairs and maintenance.
