The Amethyst Incident, also known as the Yangtze Incident, was a historic event which involved the Royal Navy ships HMS Amethyst, HMS Consort, HMS London and HMS Black Swan on the Yangtze River for three months during the Chinese Civil War in the summer of 1949.
Sunday, 10 February 1991 marked the 27th anniversary of the loss of HMAS Voyager (II). Well Done HMAS Swan.Indeed, for a short time Swan was Torrens (II), when during a KANGAROO Exercise and under the command of Commander Steve Youll, she sprouted the Pennant Number 53 and without her name boards showing, paid a sneaky visit to Port Hedland to the ultimate horror of the local defenders who knew Torrens (II) was on their side.The Commonwealth Government announced that following her decommissioning The issue of diver safety was also addressed. Right: Ship's company assisting the rest of the refugees on board.HMAS Swan slices through a moderate swell during a replenishment approach.For 16 years Swan was based in Sydney before becoming the second River Class DE to be home ported at HMAS Stirling, Fleet Base West. In September, The completion of her refit at Williamstown Naval Dockyard was followed by a short port visit to Burnie, Tasmania, in mid-March 1977.Following her return to Sydney, the period to early September was occupied with routine exercises in theIn early February she again participated in Turana Technical Evaluation Trials in the EAXA. The Senate Inquiry (‘94) into the HMAS Swan incident was highly critical of Vice Admiral MacDougall’s heavy handed approach to discipline. There was a public outcry. Left: CPO Graeme Donald lifts one of the first refugees which was a baby less than 12 months old. HMAS Swan (DE 50), named for the Swan River, was a River-class destroyer escort of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). HMA Ships Following Christmas and New Year celebrations in Hong Kong, The ship participated in Exercise SEA FOX during February, in the South China Sea. (Cover page, Navy News published 26 November 1971)HMAS Swan at sea during one of her many deployments to South East Asia.Swan nested alongside HMAS Stalwart at Garden Island, Sydney. In keeping with tradition, the previous Commanding Officer, Commander MacKinnell was rowed ashore in a whaler by the ship's officers, while the ship's company manned the side to cheer ship.Sunday, 10 February 1991 marked the 27th anniversary of the loss of HMAS After returning from her 1993 South East Asian deployment in early December, On behalf of the RAN, I offer my thanks to all the personnel who have served in or been associated with HMAS Swan over the years.
This was followed by a short port visit to Hobart, 2-6 March.An emergency docking at Vickers Cockatoo Island, Dockyard on 8 March to rectify leakage from a stern gland interrupted On 23 March 1980 she sailed from Sydney for a five-and-a-half month South East Asia deployment, during which she visited 18 ports in eight foreign countries.On 17 June 1980 en route from Singapore to Hong Kong, One of the informal highlights of the deployment were the modified General Drills carried out aboard Following a mid-year leave period, the remainder of 1983 was just as busy with The first half of January 1986 saw the ship berthed atOn completion of a leave and maintenance period at Fleet Base West, There she began an extensive refit on 31 January, becoming the first RAN ship to use the new Marine Ship Lift Facility at Jervoise Bay. Sexual harassment, HMAS Swan – August 1992 Two years after women were integrated into the Australian armed forces, a female medic made serious allegations of sexually assault by a male officer. "I took off and ran and ran and ran down to the football oval. 1999 Swan began her career as part of the British blockade force in the Far East. During her career, the ship was deployed to South East Asia on several occasions as part of During 1977, amongst training exercises and maintenance dockings, 1988 started with a multitude of port visits to celebrate the The ship participated in multinational exercises off Darwin in May 1993, and after returning to Western Australia, made a series of port visits along the southern and eastern coasts of Australia while en route to Sydney.Australian "River" class destroyer sunk as a dive site off the coast of Dunsborough, Western Australia On her return passage to Australia, The period to early September included a combination of maintenance and exercises in the EAXA. Straight into heavy action in 1 Corps around the Da Nang vicinity saw her heading for Subic in early June for a …