On (18 Apr 96) Bob Lawrence wrote to Robert Jones...



 BL>   (chuckle) The Melbourne was good at running things down. Now we know

 BL> why... the radar techie was always seasick.



Neither collision with the Melbourne were her fault.  Both ships sunk were

in the wrong place at the right time (or vice versa if you like your

vice versa). Melbourne was a tough old ship. She killed another three blokes

on the way to  being broken up for scrap.  I was on her because I got so crook

on the boats.  I reckon we should have gotten sub-mariners pay on the patrol

boats. In any sort of sea, patrol boats go over one wave, through the second

and under the third. I qualified as a comms. tech. when I joined the "Grey

Funnell " line but being the ONLY electronics techo on a patrol boat, you

have to be cross trained in  radar and power distribution as well as  specific

communications equipment used only on patrol boats. On the Melbourne, I was

just one of about 60 "greenies" (electrical technicians) of 4
different types

so I cant accept any responsibility for what  happened before I even JOINED

the navy. The "Voyager" and the "Frank E. Evans" were
only two of the many

prangs the "Melbourne" had. There was an unofficial score sheet kept (much

like the pictures ace pilots had on the side of their planes) and the last I

saw, she had scored 2 destroyers, 3 ferries (one in Sydney Harbour),

27 "bum-boats" (small out-rigger canoes that swarm out of Manila
Harbour to

sell you anything from dirty pictures to their sisters), 1 submarine

(Australian) and 14 aircraft. If we'd been at war, they would have given the

ship a medal. Pity that all her victims were "friendlys".

TTFN. Bob.



... Sale: parachute, used once, never opened, small stain.



--- PPoint 1.92