On the evening of 10 February 1964, the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, and the Daring-class destroyer HMAS Voyager were conducting a night exercise to the south-east of Jervis Bay. Two Sea Venom fighters from the naval air base at Nowra were attempting a ‘touch and go' landing on the carrier's flight deck. As ‘plane guard', the Voyager's job was to escort the Melbourne at a distance of 1500 yards, ready to recover any aircraft that ditched into the drink.
The sea was smooth with a...



