WA Branch
Please note the change of venue for the WA Branch AGM. Now at the Navy Club Point Peron Rockingham 1100 Sunday 5th July. BYO BBQ on completion.

SA Branch
Please note the change of date from 28th June 2009 1130 to the 19th July 2009 1230 for the SA Branch Annual General Meeting.
Venue: Port Adelaide Naval Association. Partners are again requested to provide something for a luncheon get together after conclusion of formalities. Members are also requested to provide something for the raffle.

Full details of future Events are available in the Events page of www.submarinesaustralia.com.

Noel Lowrie wrote "This photo was taken in 1968 (I think) in HMS OTTER. Can you put names to these men who now must be 40 years on. Makes me feel old, I was the L.O. and P. Briggs was the Navigator. Don't mention Silver Tower.!!!"  Come on, I know one (John Cornish, bottom left).

I think that there are some wackos out there, received the following email last week "Sir,  I run an events company in Sydney, and have been asked to try and stage an unusual product launch in the first week in September, whereby a box of a new product will be dropped out of a helicopter and floated by parachute onto a floating barge on Sydney Harbour. A submarine will come to the surface next to the barge, they load the box on to the submarine, and the submarine then descends and takes it away.

Now, the first few pieces are relatively easy, but finding a submarine is obviously the difficult bit. Would you possibly be able to point me in any directions that may help? The product is a new brand of alcohol that is being launched in the first week of September." My response to him was in the form of a question "How many dicks do you have?" but it went over his head, his response was 'Huh?".  Am I getting too old for this????

Last month Phil "Max" Walker wrote an item about sharing a flat in Sydney with two other former submariners - Mick Bartel and  Ron "Dutchie" Vandenberg.  This week I received an email which said "My wife Googled my name and found a particular article about me in your Sunday 24th May 2009 "Around the Traps" by Phil "Max" Walker.  I'm the culprit Ron "Dutchie" Vandenberg (ex ABROSM) and I must admit I never knew of your association so perhaps I should investigate joining. I assume members have contact details so that perhaps we can rekindle some long lost friendships."  Always good to find another submariner that has come up from the deep.

Another picture puzzle. "Come on, how good are you with names? I know them, do you?" asks John 'Boot' Hatfield. The photo is of the Ovens crew, and John Angelini and Boot are easy to recognise but the others may be a challenge.  The interesting thing about this photo is that boot is sober, a rare occurrence, but Angie has not let us down, normal stae for the times, pissed!

Are you a Member of the SAA and have not updated your personal details?  In an attempt to ensure better communications I have been validating the Submarine Association's Membership list and request that you complete the Form available at http://submarinesaustralia.com/details.html

Positions Vacant
Oceanlinx Limited has a series of small construction and manufacturing contracts related to a Marine Renewable Energy project coming up in the Sydney/Wollongong area and Stuart Weylandsmith, the Chief Operating Officer, thinks he could do with Technical Officer(s) to be his eyes and ears at the contractor yards.

Currently he needs three guys:

• one to handle the fabrication of a 150 tonne steel floating structure

• one to handle the manufacture of a turbine hub, blades and actuating mechanism; and

• one to assist in the assembly, integration and set to work of the turbine and electrical generator.

Ex-Navy tradesmen with some experience in QA or Naval Representative roles in a dockyard would probably suit. The roles would suit retired or semi-retired persons and would run for between 2 and 3 months probably part time.

Stuart Weylandsmith
Direct Phone: 02 9549 6308 Mobile: 0407 609 303 | Skype: s.weylandsmith_olx   Email: stuart.weylandsmith@oceanlinx.com

On a bitterly cold morning in Canberra Kevvy is being chauffered toParliament House. It is so cold that Lake Burley Griffin is frozen over. As he jumps out of the limo Kev looks over the lake and notices that someone has "peed" on the ice and left the message........."KEVVY SUCKS".  Kevvy is enraged and orders ASIO to investigate with "no expense spared" and to report within two weeks.

Two weeks later the head of ASIO reports to the PM and says ...."our investigation is over and I have three pieces of news for you... good news, bad news and terribly bad shocking news".  Well says Kevvy give me the good news.  The head of ASIO says......we spent $5 million dollars on the investigation and have come to a successful result.

Well says Kev what's the bad news ? The head of ASIO says "the DNA testing shows that the urine is Wayne Swann's".  Kevvy is shocked beyond belief. Looking pale, Kevvy says "and what is the terribly bad shocking news?"

The ASIO chief replies..."the hand writing is Julia Gillards".

The Injured Service Persons Association is holding a raffle to raise funds for a memorial in Canberra. The link to the Association and prize is: http://www.ispa.asn.au/raffle.html.  Your support will be appreciated.

Peter Reid wrote "As a department head stationed on a Navy vessel, I was concerned about one of my senior enlisted men. He was a superb technician, but he had a problem taking orders. One day I took him aside and suggested he try something that had worked for me.  "Whenever an officer gives you a directive that you think is stupid, just say, 'Yes, sir'. But in your mind, think, 'You’re an idiot!'" I said.  "Will this work for you?"
He smiled at me and replied, "Yes, sir!"

Interesting sites

• Not sure if you are already aware but they have digitised 1958 to 1973 Navy news. Should bring back some memories.

• The publication "Force 2030 - Your Guide to the 2009 Defence White Paper" is available for downloading as a PDF at Defence 2030

• Allen Story found a great new online dating service that would be suitable for most submariners..... click here for sample page.  Be careful though, offence may be caused to some of you less adventurous types!!!

Vale - George William Day
January 1, 1936 ~ April 27, 2009. A veteran of the RCN, George served in RN Submarines during the late 1950's & early 1960's,
George passed away peacefully with his family at his side in the Nanaimo Regional Hospital after 11 days in Intensive Care. He is survived by his wife Monica, son Mark (Pam) grandchildren Kira and Bryson and brother Loid (Elaine), nephews and nieces, aunts and cousins. His convivial personality and perennial cheerfulness endeared him to his many friends and acquaintances. He will be sadly missed. He had requested that there be no service and that his ashes be scattered at sea.

VETERANS' AFFAIRS
VETERANS’ REVIEW BOARD
The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, today announced that Mr Michael Griffin has resigned as Principal Member of the Veterans’ Review Board and that Mr David Mackrell will be appointed as the acting Principal Member pending the recruitment of a permanent replacement.  “David Mackrell has considerable senior management experience in both the Commonwealth and state public services and an extensive knowledge of veterans’ issues,” Mr Griffin said.

“The veteran community will be familiar with Mr Mackrell from his time as Deputy Commissioner (Queensland) of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. His strong skills in administration will ensure the continued efficient operation of the Board during the period of transition to a new Principal Member. “The Veterans’ Review Board has an ongoing role in providing an independent tribunal in an informal and supportive environment which ensures members of the veteran community continue to receive their lawful entitlements.

“In the coming weeks, I will begin a recruitment process to select a new permanent Principal Member of the Veterans’ Review Board. The position will be advertised nationally.

“David Mackrell has agreed to a three month appointment, during which the selection process will proceed.

Background
The Veterans’ Review Board is an independent tribunal that reviews decisions on veterans’ entitlements and some military rehabilitation and compensation claims.  The Board is made up of members who decide cases and staff who assist the members. There are four types of members: Principal Member, Senior Members, Services Members and Members.

The Principal Member is responsible for the overall operations of the Board. Ongoing appointments of members are made by the Governor-General.

Two Kellicks were discussing popular family trends on sex, marriage, and family values. The Kellick Stoker said, 'I didn't sleep with my wife before we got married, did you?' The Kellick Greenie replied, 'I'm not sure, what was her maiden name?'

DEFENCE NEWS
Submarine training tank springs a 300,000L leak
The lost water is the equivalent to a person taking 6000 showers, flushing a toilet 38,000 times or using a dishwasher 12,000 times. The accident is the result of poor maintenance of the $25million Submarine Escape Training Facility, which has been left idle since May last year because of a mismanaged Defence tender to run the facility. The SETF is used to give submariners pressurised underwater escape training inside a tall cylinder-shaped tank, filled with about 500,000L of water.

However, a valve and pipe began leaking the weekend before last, causing 60 per cent of the water in the tank to leak out into nearby ditches. The navy did not detect the leak until early on the following Monday.

The tank is usually emptied once a year for maintenance purposes, but this is the first time in the SETF's 20-year history that it has lost a large volume of water by mistake. The facility, described on the navy's website as "the most advanced of its kind in the world today", has been idle for 13 months after the navy and the Australian Submarine Corp, the original preferred tender, argued over aspects of a Defence tender to run the centre.

The dispute forced the navy to issue another tender to run the centre, but as yet no winner has been announced. The result of the bungle is that more than 100 navy submariners have been flown around the world at taxpayers' expense to conduct training in Canada rather than at HMAS Stirling.

Escape training is mandatory for all new submariners and qualified submariners must take a refresher course every three years. The head of navy maritime systems, Rear Admiral Boyd Robinson, told a parliamentary committee this month that the navy expected to award a contract to run SETF next month and start-up training and certification of workers could take a further three months.

Meanwhile, a British submarine rescue vehicle has finally arrived in Australia, ending a 2 1/2-year period when the navy had no deep-sea submarine rescue capability.

The Royal Navy LR5 vehicle was brought to Australia to quell growing criticism from media and submariners that there needed to be a rescue vehicle based in the country in case of a submarine emergency.  The navy's Australian rescue vehicle, Remora, sank in December 2006 and has still not regained certification.

Submariners recall close encounters of Soviet kind
HMAS Ovens powered slowly through the frigid depths of the Tasman Sea, the crew of the 90mlong Oberon-class submarine manning their posts in silence.  Their enemy, a Soviet submarine sent to spy on the Australian coastline, lurked somewhere nearby.

It was 1971, the height of the Cold War, and the Ovens was busy playing its part in the cloak-and-dagger battle for intelligence supremacy raging between the US and the Soviet Union.

Gosnells resident Fred Lawrence, 64, who was the petty officer in charge of sonar on the Ovens at the time, said their mission had been to stay undetected and keep track of the enemy movements.  "We caught up with her somewhere down near Tasmania, he said. It was an old Russian submarine. She’d come down out of the Pacific, right down our east coast and came as far west as Albany before she turned around and went back."

Yesterday, Mr Lawrence and nine other original members of the Ovens 60-strong crew gathered at the WA Maritime Museum, where the submarine now rests on display, to commemorate 40 years since the vessel was launched.  But despite the passage of time, the old sailors remained reluctant to give away too much detail about the missions they ran during the Cold War, much of which has never been officially acknowledged by the Australian Government.

Mt Hawthorn resident Lloyd Blake, who was a petty officer on the Ovens, said most Australians were oblivious to the secret contribution Australian Cold War submariners had made beneath the waves.  Mr Blake said that during the 60s, Australian sailors training on British submarines had been involved in secret sea battles with Russian vessels on mystery tours in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

By 1969, Australian Oberon-class subs, such as the Ovens, were leading the espionage war against the Soviets in the southern hemisphere.  Crews would leave port in Australia with no knowledge of their mission and remain submerged for up to six weeks.

Spooks and language specialists were passengers, Mr Blake said. We were able to get within 5m of a big (enemy) ship, photograph her and record her sound signature and slip away totally undetected, he said. 

ASC welcomes new Chairman
Vice Admiral Chris Ritchie's appointment as Chairman of leading Australian naval defence company ASC has been warmly welcomed by outgoing Chairman Mr John Prescott AC.

Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation and sole shareholder of ASC, Lindsay Tanner, announced earlier today that Vice Admiral Ritchie AO RANR would succeed Mr Prescott as Chairman on the expiry of Mr Prescott' s current term (30 June 2009).

Mr Prescott, who has been Chairman of ASC since November 2000 when the Company became 100% owned by the Commonwealth, said Vice Admiral Ritchie brought a broad range of experience and capability to the role including a deep understanding of customer requirements for the Company's services.

Vice Admiral Ritchie has had a distinguished naval career, including terms as both Chief of Navy and the Australian Defence Force Theatre Commander, and has served as a Director on ASC's Board since August 2007. He said he was honoured to be chosen as Chairman of ASC.  "I am privileged to have the opportunity of leading the Company through what will be an important time for us." he said.  "I look forward to working with the ASC Board, senior management and staff."

Vice Admiral Ritchie said that he was pleased that Mr Graeme Bulmer would continue to act as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer while ASC's Board conducts an executive search for a replacement for Greg Tunny, who resigned in May 2009. He also acknowledged the commitment and contributions of Mr Prescott and fellow director Mr Charles Bagot, who likewise is retiring on the expiry of his present term on 30 June after serving on the Board since 2000.

"Through their roles on the Board, Mr Prescott and Mr Bagot have made significant contributions to important stages of the Company's development, in particular its expansion through diversification in submarine activities and surface ship construction," Vice Admiral Ritchie said.

Sub that sunk Kuttabul now historic site
The Japanese midget submarine which sunk HMAS Kuttabul in Sydney Harbour during World War II has been declared a historic shipwreck. The announcement came as 21 men who died on the Kuttabul just after midnight on June 1, 1942, were remembered in a memorial service at Sydney's Garden Island.

The M24 submarine fired two torpedoes at the USS Chicago but missed its intended target, with one exploding beneath the converted ferry Kuttabul that was being used for sailors' accommodation.

It was one of three midget subs, each with a two-member crew, that entered Sydney Harbour on May 31, avoiding a partially constructed anti-submarine boom net. After being detected and attacked, the crews of two midget submarines scuttled their boats and committed suicide without successfully engaging any Allied vessels.

The M24's location remained a mystery for 64 years until divers located its wreck off Bungan Head, Newport, on Sydney's northern beaches in November 2006.

Federal Heritage Minister Peter Garrett on Sunday declared the area a protected shipwreck site. He said protection under the Historic Shipwreck Act would ensure the wreck remained intact as a poignant reminder of Australia's maritime history. "The M24 submarine holds a great deal of historic significance to Australia, NSW and Japan and provides important insights into the historic events of May 31, 1942," he said on Sunday while unveiling 1,170 new names on the migrant Welcome Wall at Sydney's Darling Harbour."

China accused of secretly salvaging sunken British submarine containing 18 lost sailors
China has been accused of secretly salvaging a sunken British submarine with the remains of 18 dead sailors on board. HMS Poseidon sank in 130ft of water on June 9, 1931, after a collision with a Chinese merchant steamer 20 miles north of the British naval base at Weihai.

Relatives and survivors had always thought the vessel remained on the sea bed along with the lost men. But American historian Steven Schwankert claims the Chinese salvaged the vessel without fanfare in the early 1970s to test the skills of their naval special forces and newly formed underwater recovery units. He has been investigating the fate of the Poseidon since coming across references to its salvage in an obscure Chinese magazine titled "Modern Ships" in 2005.

He says that while the submarine itself almost certainly went for scrap, there is no indication of what happened to the crew who did not survive.

The suggestion that a Royal Navy vessel containing the remains of its crew has been raised by China without the British government being informed has provoked concern in London and among the relatives of the dead. A Foreign Office spokesman said the ministry was investigating the reports to try to confirm the fate of the vessel.

Captain Andrew Tate, Royal Navy attache to the British Embassy in Beijing, said: "Clearly if the submarine has been raised we would have expected there to have been some discussion with the United Kingdom and the Ministry of Defence and our concern would be over the bodies that still remained in the submarine."

Calls to China's State Council and the National Defence Ministry in Beijing were not returned. Grainy photos taken from other Royal Navy ships taking part in the same manoeuvres as HMS Poseidon in 1931 show the helplessness of crews on the surface who are unable to assist their colleagues on the seabed 130ft below. There are images of the 30 men who managed to scramble into the water before it sank being brought aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes wrapped in blankets and others images showing bubbles from the submarine breaking the surface.

More than three hours after the submarine had settled on the bottom, eight men equipped with the new Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus, a rudimentary underwater breathing system, managed to leave a bow compartment. Two failed to reach the surface and another died later. More photos from the date of the accident show the subsequent memorial service at sea for the victims and the burial of two men whose bodies were recovered.

The biggest unanswered question is over the remains of the 18 crew who were unable to escape when the submarine, built by Vickers in Barrow in 1929, sank. "It's a very good question," said Schwankert. "There would almost certainly have been the remains of the 18 crew who died aboard the Poseidon entombed within it at the time of the salvage.

Schwankert, who is writing a book on his research, does not believe that HMS Poseidon was salvaged in order to learn any technological secrets that it might have contained as Chinese submarines were already based on more advanced Soviet vessels. George Malcolmson, a historian with the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, said: "The Chinese obviously knew where the wreck was, so they wanted to recover it for military training. "As it was in their territorial waters, they clearly didn't feel the need to ask anyone to go ahead and do just that.

"I do not think they will see it as interfering in a war grave and they might say that they brought it up but claim that there were no remains in it."

A doctor examining the wife of a Coxswain who had been rushed to the Emergency Room, took the husband aside, and said, 'I don't like the looks of your wife at all.'   'Me neither doc,' said the Coxswain. 'But she's a great cook and really good with the kids.'

Come on Boof and Niggs, time to put the chooks to bed.............

Top up your Wine Cellars now?  For this week's specials go to GetWineDirect and save enough to buy heaps more, you can never have enough wine, especially with a bunch of thirsty foreigners about to arrive like a a plague of locusts.  Please visit the website and when you place your order be sure to include the CLUB ID number to go onto your order so the SAA can claim the 5% of sales. SAA ID Number is 3558 or for WA Members  the ID Number is 9375.  I have just taken delivery of my latest consignment and continue to be very impressed with the quality and price of these wines.