Ch 4 Collision between USS Frank E Evans and HMAS Melbourne

Summary of Events

The collision between HMAS Melbourne and the USS Frank E Evans occurred at about 0300 on 3 June 1969 in the South China Sea about 650 miles south-west of Manila, when the Evans ran under Melbourne's bow in the course of changing station from ahead to astern of Melbourne. Evans was cut in two. The forward part sank shortly afterwards while the after part of the ship swung around and was secured to Melbourne's starboard side aft.  US Navy personnel from the after section of Evans were taken on board Melbourne, either onto the flight deck or onto the quarterdeck. Then, after a search confirmed that no one remained in this section of Evans, it was let go.

Damage to Ships

USS Evans was split in half.

Melbourne was badly holed forward of the collision bulkhead and the trim tanks were flooded.  Immediate action was taken to shore up, and at that time it was predicted that it would be ready to proceed at slow speed in approximately six hours.

Casualties and Survivors

Melbourne suffered no personnel casualties.

Seventy-four US sailors out of a total crew of 272 were lost, all inside the bow section of the ship when it sank. Of these, only one body was recovered, that of Seaman Kenneth Wayne Glines, 19, a sailor from the bow section of the Evans. He was picked up by one of Melbourne's boats.

Injuries

Sick bay crew converted the wardroom into an emergency hospital.  Some survivors suffered from wounds and cuts and a few lost consciousness in the water.  Also, those in the forward engine room of the USS Evans suffered cuts and severe burns from scalding water when the steam lines were ruptured at the time of the accident.

The most seriously wounded was a lookout from the Evans who had been lying on top of the lookout's shack on the signal bridge of the Evans.  When the two ships collided, he was thrown onto Melbourne's flight deck. A RAN pilot discovered him and had him taken to sickbay by sickbay attendants who had arrived on scene.

Recovery and Handling of Deceased Personnel

The body of Seaman Kenneth Wayne Glines was recovered by one of Melbourne's boats, placed in a wire stretcher and covered by a blanket, and taken to the Melbourne. Once on the Melbourne, he was taken up a ladder to a bathroom which had been assigned as the mortuary, and remained there until he was flown to the USS Kearsarge at about 1100.  He was taken on USS Kearsarge to Subic Bay, and returned to America where he was buried in Mount Washington Cemetery.

Search and Rescue Operations

Melbourne's Executive Officer, Commander E V Stevens RAN told the Board of Investigation that from his records there were 198 personnel from the Evans who survived the collision and all were on board Melbourne by 0345.  37 were picked up by Melbourne's boats, 2 by helicopters (Wessexes flown by 817 Squadron) and about 10 in liferafts.  Some 100 boarded Melbourne directly from the stern section, which was secured to Melbourne's starboard side, with scrambling nets used for climbing between the ships.  The remainder were thought to have got on board by swimming directly (some helped by crewmembers of the Melbourne who had jumped overboard) to the port side and using ladders that had been rigged there, one to the flight deck and one to the quarterdeck.

Once all survivors were cleared from the after section of the Evans, and it was personally checked by Commander Stevens for anyone who may have been overlooked, Melbourne released it and moved approximately 1,000 yards clear.

Survivors were taken to USS Kearsarge, some by helicopter and some by boat.  The last of the survivors left HMAS Melbourne at approximately 1030.  They then travelled aboard the Kearsarge to Subic Bay.

Search Operations

Although all survivors were rescued within 45 minutes of the disaster, the search continued for fifteen hours.

Every piece of debris in the area was recovered.

The search was called off at 1830 and Melbourne proceeded slowly to Singapore.

The Final Fate of the Evans

After being unleashed from the Melbourne, the after section of the Evans did not sink. An Emergency Salvage and Recovery Team from the USS Everett F Larson went aboard the slowly sinking after half of USS Frank E Evans shortly after 0500 on 3 June 1969. Their orders were to survey the damage and if possible to prevent the remaining half of the ship from sinking to allow recovery of the valuable equipment and records on board.

The officer-in-charge of the team realised that removal of the flooding water to keep the ship afloat was causing an even more potentially dangerous situation-in-stability, that is; a tendency for Evans to capsize due to becoming top-heavy. Part of the team was put to work removing topside weight. Within a matter of minutes about 5 tons of weight was jettisoned by cutting loose a large ventilation fan motor, a loading machine used for training gun crews, a damaged boat davit, and the ships motor whale boat (which was later recovered by personnel from USS James E Keyes). A considerable amount of other smaller material was also jettisoned.

When it was established that the danger of sinking or capsizing was past the USS Larson came alongside and tied up to the Evans. Additional personnel were brought aboard Evans to remove personnel records, correspondence files, personal property and classified documents. Earlier, the salvage team had located and removed the ship's diaries which would positively establish who was on board at the time of the collision so that all personnel could be accounted for. Evans' supply officer came on board and removed the ships' funds amounting to more than $100,000.

Meanwhile the Salvage team began cleaning up, eliminating fire hazards and other potential dangers. Weapons specialists had already gone through the magazines checking all ammunition.

Towing hawsers were rigged and Larson was prepared to take Evans in tow, if required. However, during the afternoon USS Tawasa, an ocean-going tug especially rigged for towing, came alongside Larson to take over salvage operations. In addition, salvage experts from Subic Bay came aboard to ensure that Evans was ready for the long trip to Subic Bay.  At 18l5 on 3 June 1969 the Commanding Officer of Tawasa took charge of Evans and Larson departed the scene

Tawasa spent 3-4 June preparing the Evans for towing, and departed for Subic Bay on 4 June with wreckage in tow. Arriving in Subic Bay on 9 June, the Tawasa laid Evans to rest at a Subic Bay pier.  There, everything that could be removed was salvaged from the ship, and it was sunk as target on 10 October 1969 by USS Cochrane.

Attachments

Attachment 1: Events leading up to the collision.

References

Stevenson, Jo.1999.  In the Wake: The True Story of the Melbourne-Evans Collision, Conspiracy and Cover-up Hale and Iremonger, Alexandria, NSW.

Chapman, A. I.  1979.  The 'Melbourne' Collisions.  Self-published.  Australia.

Attachment 1- Events Leading up to Collision

USS Frank E Evans was one of five escorts travelling with the Aircraft Carrier HMAS Melbourne during a SEATO exercise, Exercise Sea Spirit, employing 40 ships from six nations.  The five escorts were US ships Keyes, Larson and Evans, the New Zealand ship Blackpool and the British ship Cleopatra.

In the morning of the third of June, the Evans was ordered to act as planeguard for the Melbourne. Evans' function as planeguard was to recover any aircraft that happened to ditch into the sea.

On execution of the flying course signal, Evans was to take up position as planeguard, 1,000 yards astern of Melbourne.  Evans had plenty of experience acting as a planeguard for Melbourne, and had done this on four other occasions.

Captain Stevenson of Melbourne told Evans that the flying course was 260 degrees.  The Evans was 3,500 yards in front of Melbourne on the port side, steaming a parallel course to Melbourne's.  Melbourne had all navigation lights on at full brilliance, which was not usual practice, because it had come close to a collision with USS Larson two nights before.

When the order to take up planeguard position came through, the OC of Evans, Captain Albert McLemore was asleep in bed. Lieutenant Ronald Ramsey, officer of the watch, was reading, and left the manoeuvre in the hands of his assistant, Lieutenant Hopson.

The Evans turned to starboard to cross in front of Melbourne.  Stevenson sent a message over voice radio from bridge to bridge warning Evans that she was on a collision course.  Melbourne radioed to the Evans that it was turning to port and sounded two blasts on its siren.  Evans then spun hard right under Melbourne's bows.

Communications

All communications between Melbourne and Evans were by voice radio.