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The ''Melbourne''–''Evans'' collision was a collision between the light aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the destroyer of the United States Navy (USN). On 3 June 1969, the two ships were participating in SEATO exercise Sea Spirit in the South China Sea. At approximately 3:00 am, when ordered to a new escort station, ''Evans'' sailed under ''Melbourne''s bow, where she was cut in two. Seventy-four of ''Evans'' crew were killed. A joint RAN–USN board of inquiry was held to establish the events of the collision and the responsibility of those involved. This inquiry, which was believed by the Australians to be biased against them, found that both ships were at fault for the collision. Four officers (the captains of ''Melbourne'' and ''Evans'', plus the two junior officers in control of ''Evans'' at the time of the collision) were court-martialled based on the results of the inquiry; while the three USN officers were charged, the RAN officer was cleared of wrongdoing. ==Ships== HMAS ''Melbourne'' was the lead ship of the ''Majestic'' class of aircraft carriers. She was laid down for the Royal Navy on 15 April 1943, but construction was stopped at the end of World War II. She was sold to the Royal Australian Navy in 1948, along with sister ship , but was heavily upgraded while construction was completed and did not enter service until the end of 1955. In 1964, ''Melbourne'' was involved in a collision with the Australian destroyer , sinking the smaller ship and killing 82 of her crew. USS ''Frank E. Evans'' was an . She was laid down on 21 April 1944, and commissioned into the United States Navy on 3 February 1945.〔Naval History Department, ''History of USS Frank E. Evans (DD-754)''.〕 She served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and earned eleven battle stars.〔 File:HMAS Melbourne (R21) underway 1967.jpeg|HMAS ''Melbourne'' File:USS Frank E. Evans (DD-754) at sea, April 1963.jpg|USS ''Frank E. Evans'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Melbourne–Evans collision」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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