To explore the history and making of the X4009 timepieces, visit REC Watches – https://www.recwatches.com/timepieces/limited-editions/aircraft/
The third port of call during the Shipshape Australia tour of 2023, was Melbourne, starting off with a visit to HMAS Castlmaine!
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Pinned post for Q&A 🙂
The forward gun mount was tracking the drone as it circled the ship.
I'd like to point out that HMAS Cerberus is a stone frigate, in fact a Training establishment down at Crib Point on the Mornington Peninsula. The wreck you refer to is the HMVS Cerberus (Her Majesty's Victorian Ship) is a breastwork monitor that served in the Victoria Naval Forces, the Commonwealth Naval Forces (CNF), and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1871 and 1924. I worked on the Castlemaine during her initial start to restoration that no one really took seriously at first. We tried, god knows we tried, to get dockyard space. Three of us worked with needle guns for rust removal before repainting the decks. This led to the need for welding up of holes and the inevitable small below deck fire. All of us were volunteers and we had some community service people who got the nasty jobs of cleaning out the fresh water tanks and removing the old and peeling tar coating. Because the dork in charge at that time would not come out of his comfort zone of allowing tourists on board, not enough meaningful work got done. I was sorry to leave but things picked up and this grand old ship got the care she deserved.
I would love for you to do a deserving story of HMAS Armidale, the ship that had to die. The ordinary seaman, Teddy Sheehan, who stayed at his gun fire at Jap aircraft to discourage them from strafing survivors in the water. Teddy was already wounded in both legs and went down with the ship, still firing. The Navy saw fit to name a Collins class submarine after him. The only time in history that an ordinary seaman has had a ship named after them. She was the sister ship of HMAS Castlemaine, another is HMAS Whyalla, high and dry in Whyalla. The corvettes/minesweepers kept Australia's shipping lanes clear.
5:45 what an absolute bada$$ little ship
I remember this old girl from my recruit training days at HMAS CERBERUS. We did some Seamanship training and were taught how to sling a hammock in her mess deck. I remember the “Stockers” undergoing training in her engineering spaces. That was then the cleanest engine/space I was ever going to see for the next several years of my enlistment. “You could have eaten off the deck” it was so clean.
The sad day came when she was taken to Williamstown naval dockyards, painted black and used as a boiler/bilge cleaning hulk.
So relieved to later seeing her taken under hand of the Navy Museum Volunteers who so diligently and lovingly cleaned her up and restored her to her former glory.
Up spirits eh
Excellent tour! What was the large red item next to the Carley float?
I volunteered on her around 1984-5. My mate and I redid the wiring for the Gyro compass, while his father was repairing the boilers. We only had 1/2 a safety valve because it had been sectioned for training purposes!
See if you can get to the Diamintina in Brisbane, QLD. It is a River class corvette.
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Nice work Drach. We now get to see how these small ships were designed…and why…i note the cannister (drum ) feed on the 20 mm up above. Could it have been the Hispano 20 mm. As used on the Spitfire the early Hispanos used a drum like this …later a "clockwork" drum feed ?
been at least 10 years since I was on her. Planning a return visit with my (now adult) boys soon.
Back in about 1972 I went to visit HMS Belfast with my friend Mark Shepherd and we enjoyed ourselves training the AA guns
I live close by, I was considering volunteering at some point! Even aside from her history, the Castlemaine means a lot to me personally, as I'd always sit on the pier she sat beside. I was there for her 80th anniversary too, and I must have at least 200 photos of her. I started taking them every time I've seen her since 4 years ago or so.
As a not-Quartermaster, I can’t fully crack the flag signal. However, if memory serves me right, that bottom flag should mean that the CO is off-ship.
Very excited for Diamantina. Walked past it every day when I was in university. Built in my birthplace of Maryborough. The shipyard closed in the 1970s but they still make trains there. Military manufacturing came back a couple years ago with Rheinmetall setting up a 155mm shell foundry.
The "gyro compass" on the bridge is a probably a "gyro repeater" with the main gyro located below deck in the "gyro room" 🙂
J 2 4 3rd repeater?
My old royal Australian navy cadets old unit named after hmas Broome ww2 corvette destroyer j191 and maybe u can do a reaction video of hmas Broome j191 corvette
5:11
You do a video reaction of hmas ovens submarine Oberon class submarines
According to HT Lenton's British and Commonwealth warships of World War Two, the Bathurst Class was evolved from the RN's reciprocating powered Bangor class of small minesweepers (they were found to be too small to have the engines needed to power the Double L magnetic mine sweep gear and an acoustic hammer anti-acoustic mine device and were replaced by the larger Algerine class, which was similar in size to the RN's original series of 1930's sweepers. the Halcyons. As mine sweeping is largely a battle of numbers, the RN had gone to the Bangors for war time production in VTE, geared diesel and turbine subclasses, which proved to be rather a misteak. Interestingly, many, if not all, RCN Algerines never streamed a sweep as they were either stripped of or not built with sweep gear in favor of depth charges. They were then employed as Atlantic Escorts as pseudo-corvettes). The Bathursts were always rated as minesweepers and calling them “corvettes” was local and unofficial. Twenty purchased by the RN were loaned to the RAN.
Armament on the Bathursts varied – 4 inch DP, 4 inch LA, 12 Pounder AA – what ever was available. The use of stripped WW1 Lewis guns in the bridge wings was typical. I wonder if the “50 cal” was the US M2 or British .5 Inch Mark III. The primary use of light automatic weapons on escorts was really against subs rather than aircraft – to kill the bridge watch and keep the crew from reaching their deck guns. The Heavy Depth Charge was a standard charge with an added iron weight attached to make it sink faster to a given depth to give a sub less chance to esacpe,”Mark VII Heavy – This had a 150 lbs. (68 kg) cast-iron weight attached to increase the sinking rate. The British claimed this DC would split a 0.875 inch (22 mm) hull at 20 feet (6.1 m) and force a submarine to surface at about twice that distance. A minol charge introduced in 1942 increased these distances to 26 feet (7.9 m) and 52 feet (15.8 m), respectively” Navweaps Site. The Depth Charger “Holder” is called an arbor and is normally sent over the side with the charge. (Load propelling charge, load arbor, load depth charge on arbor, load vent tube (blank 303) into firing mechanism and Bob's Your Uncle See ASW Weapons of the United Kingdom / Britain – NavWeaps )
Radar Type 286 was an Air Search set and 272 (in the dustbin) was a Surface Search unit. The loop antenna is for Medium Frequency Direction Finding (MFDF). Not sure what ASDIC was used, probably Type 123 from 1934 but maybe Type 145. From dad's experience as a member of the bridge watch on a US carrier, flags were used for standard manuvers with the "Execute" being when the flagship hauled down the signal and for flying the ships hull/pennant number when entering harbor, with the signal lamp blinkering messages when under radio silence and out of contact. Voice radio (The Frequency Modulated TBS – “Talk Between Ships” – radiotelephone) was used when in combat and in secure areas to the rear.
Pronounced as Casselmaine, thankyou.😊
You mentioned a sub on it's side in a marina in Melb, what marina and what is the name of the sub , I have never heard of this.
Thank you for your great content.
In 1967 Castlemaine steamed from Cerberus to Williamtown under her own power for hull maintenance. I didn't do the return trip, but I assume that was also under her own power.
I like how the main guns are following the drone.
She is beautiful
It brings me so much pride seeing international history enthusiest taking interest in Australia's history. Thankyou so much Drach for taking interest 🙂
Interesting watching the 4" Deck gun following your drone as we looked over the ship. A nervous feeling watching the gun following our flight path.
Did the 102 on Sackville have a sight for limited aa use .
Chucker in the Ute and get uncle barry in Bendigo. Australian adventure!
"PPI" (radar): "Plan Position Indicator."
My grandfather served on Castlemaine's sister ship (HMAS Wagga) as the gunnery commander and then took over briefly when the Captain was wounded. I still have original trench glasses and massive field glasses from the bridge but aren't ready to donate them yet. The Castlemaine caretakers took great interest and gave a great tour of the ship when I visited it some 20 years ago.
The guys on the bow gun are having a complete whale of a time aiming at the drone.
17:36 Already picked the signal. it's Juliet-Two-Four with 3rd Substitute. Which I assume is "J244", the pennant number for the vessel…
Technically, this signal is incorrect though. As the substitute should take the flag numbered from the start of the numeric sequence; not the start of the signal… Thus, they should have used the 2nd Substitute, (3rd Substitute is nonsensical in this signal). Second substitute is a Blue-White pennant with the flat tail.
i dont know what memorabilia is displayed aboard this ship but back when the objective of this group was the cerberus, my grandmother donated documents and the posting records of mr. paul who spent time on all victorian navy ships including the cerberus and the nelson. she also donated part of a periscope mirror reputed to have been souvenired from a ww1 u-boat. i retain his sailor's chest which was taken with him onboard all his postings.
Thanks for highlighting this ship from my home town, next to the naval dockyard that services RAN ships and built the ANZAC class ships.
So, based on the very end of the video, I’m curious if the engines have been restored to an actual functioning order or just the appearance of functioning? I don’t mind waiting until the video you mentioned doing later about the below-decks stuff, I can be patient. But… I mean, if you WANTED to spoil that detail I wouldn’t be mad
That is a sad little boat and I imagine just a target, the lack of guns is disturbing.
The compass compensating metal masses are also known as 'the navigators balls'.