I ... - - "Cui\ed Missile Destroyer<strong>Australia</strong>ns recently had an opportunity <strong>of</strong> seeing, in the U.SS. TOWERS, the type <strong>of</strong> destroyerswhich are to be built for the R.A.N.The Commanding Officer <strong>of</strong> TOWERS, Commander L. 0. Cummins, said:—"TOWERS is one <strong>of</strong> our country's newest guided missile destroyers. She is a versatile ship configuredtor both anti-air and anti-submarine operations. Incorporated in her are the latest in radar, missiles,communications gear, propulsion equipment, sonar and other devices needed to do the many /obs that comea destroyer's way in heloing to keep the sea lanes free.Four boilers produce nearly 80.000shaft horsepower, giving the shipa speed <strong>of</strong> 35 knots.Use <strong>of</strong> aluminium for the superstructurepermits greater flexibility<strong>of</strong> design and provides the necessarybalance for new and heavierweapons which use the all-weldedhigh-strength steel hull for theunyielding platform.The TARTAR surface-to-airmissiles are capable <strong>of</strong> searching outtargets at supersonic speeds.The primary anti-submarineweapon carried is the A.S.R.O.C.launcher which fires A.S.W. rocketsequipped with either homing torpedoesor depth-charge heads.TOWERS 5' 54 calibre generalpurpose rapid fire guns are controlledby intricate electronic systemscoupled with radar and sonardetection and tracking equipment.The ship is designed for a wartimecomplement <strong>of</strong> 351 <strong>of</strong>ficersand men.The ships overall length <strong>of</strong> 437feet with a beam <strong>of</strong> 47 feet givesa full load displacement <strong>of</strong> 4500tons, half again as heavy as a typicalWorld War II destroyer.She was commissioned in <strong>Jun</strong>e.1961. and is named after the lateAdmiral J. H. Towers, the U.S<strong>Navy</strong>'s Third Naval Aviator andlater Chief <strong>of</strong> the Bureau <strong>of</strong> Aeronauticsand Commander U.S. PacificFleet. Admiral Towers died in1955Shown above is a Tartar surface-to-air missile launched during theguided missile carrying destroyer's visit to Sydney. The <strong>Australia</strong>n shipswill have the Sea Cat missile.I'.S.S. TOWERS, the 4.500 ton missile carrying destroyer, entering Sydney Harbour.THE NAVY<strong>Jun</strong>e. <strong>1962</strong>gt9rrtyBB?iHRTWH .
Royal Naval Survey ShipsReturn After DiscoveriesU.S.S. TOWERS shows her Are power as the 5" 51 calibre dual purpose guns blast away on herdemonstration to <strong>Australia</strong>n V.I.P.'s <strong>of</strong>f Sydney Heads.To "The <strong>Navy</strong>,"Box 3850, G.P.O.,Sydney, N.S.W.SUBSCRIPTION FORMI enclose 23/- for Annual Subscription to " The <strong>Navy</strong>,"post free, commencing January, 1961.NameStreetTownDateStatePlease not* that all annual subscriptions now commence in January.New subscribers after January should send onlyremaining up to and Including December.Januery will be posted.l/l I for each monthOtherwise beck copies fromU.S.S. TOWERSSHOWSFIRE POWERABILITYA highlight <strong>of</strong> her visit unitdemonstration, to liitzhranking Pederal members <strong>of</strong>Parliament. Iril by tin' Minixterfor <strong>Navy</strong>, Senator Gorton, amiRoyal <strong>Australia</strong>n <strong>Navy</strong> Officers.nf her fire power which eomprisedtlii' suface-to-air niissilr"Tartar" ami her ilual pur-">-inch ."i4 calibre nuns.I"'1'ln' Surv.'\ Ship- II.M.S,II WEN ami II.M.S DAI.HYMPIiE returned m ill.' I'.K."ii :llst May after it scries "Isurveys, respect ivel,\ in theIndian Ocean am! PersianLull, as a ri'siilt nf which itlias been discovered that tin*Kast African Continent may•'Xtcnd underwater almost! asfar as the Si-yclu-lli's. nearly1.000 mill's from I lie existingcoastline.II..M.S. OWEN, which saili'ilfrom the L'.K. in Septemberlast year for the lirst <strong>of</strong> Avesi'.-isiins in the Indian Ocean,reports that her survey worklias revealed an <strong>of</strong>fshore /one"-Mm mill's wide ami extendingalmut '.'.iinii miles from Madagascarto Sni'utra. Tin- /.uni* ischaracterised by a strikingabsent f gravimetric andmagnetic relief, suggesting thatthe whole zone may be underlaidby a wedge <strong>of</strong> sedimentaryrocks, several miles in thicknessami effectively extendingi he Continent <strong>of</strong> Africa.Geologists working on lamlm Kast Africa ami Madagascarhave suspected that the eastwardtilted Continent mightcontinue beneath the deepwater <strong>of</strong> the Indian Ocean, andihe findings <strong>of</strong> II.M.S. OWENthis year appear to confirmihis. if these early findings <strong>of</strong>II.M.S. OWEN are confirmedby further survey work by theship next year, they will posea considerable problem to geophysicaltheorists.Although ll.M.s. OWEN'Swork has been inninh geophysical,she has completedsome inshore survey work inthe vicinity <strong>of</strong> Lamu, Kenya,in addition to many small tasksiii tin- Seychelles. Ciismoledoami at Aildll Atoll. She hascarried riviliau scii'iitists towork with tin- Royal Navalllydrographic <strong>of</strong>ficers, andthese have included scientistsfrom Cambridge University, theNational Institute <strong>of</strong> Oceanographyami the British PetroleumCompany. The scientistsi ireophysieists used instrumentsto measure the force <strong>of</strong>gravity ami the strength <strong>of</strong>the earth's magnetic Held wheneverthe ship was at sea. Theminute fluctuations <strong>of</strong> theseforces (rive ellles wlliell suggestwhat sort <strong>of</strong> rocks may heburied underneath the sea-liedover wliieli the ship has passed.This work has been part <strong>of</strong>the British contribution to theInternational Indian OeeauExpedition, jointly sponsoredl>y the International Conneil <strong>of</strong>Scientific Unions and byUNESCO, ami has two objects:the scientific exploration <strong>of</strong> themarine biology, water circulatinnand submarine geology <strong>of</strong>the Indian Oeeau: and the encouragement<strong>of</strong> marine sciencesin the countries bordering theIndian Ocean, whose risingpopulations may soon compelthem to turn to the sea forfood. The Expedition willoccupy almost all <strong>of</strong> the world'slarger research vessels duringthe coming two years, butII.M.S. OWEN, working in theArabian Sea. was amongst thefirst ships in the field. Herscientific programme was plannedby a Committee set up bythe Royal Society at the invitation<strong>of</strong> the Ilydrographcr <strong>of</strong>the Royal <strong>Navy</strong> (Rear AdmiralE. U. Irving, O.B.E.) and itsexecution was entrusted to theCambridge University <strong>of</strong> (Jen.physics.The programme has been ari'i'iinnaissaiu f the sea-floorgeology <strong>of</strong> the Arabian Sea—a little known area as large asthe U.S.A. -which will make itpossible to select key problemsand localities for detailedinvestigation hy British shipsnext season.Both on the way nut to theIndian Ocean and on her returnpassage, II.M.S. OWEN has recimnuitrcila system <strong>of</strong> stronglymagnetised volcanic ridges and• basins running diagonallyacross the Gull <strong>of</strong> Aden.Several atoll pinups have beenvisited to estimate the depth<strong>of</strong> volcanic basement beneathI he coral.Knur long traverses by theship, extending from Africa toIndia, have given a clearerpicture both <strong>of</strong> the physiography<strong>of</strong> the floor <strong>of</strong> theArabian Sea and <strong>of</strong> the northwardcourse <strong>of</strong> the CarlsbergKidgc (the ureal mid-oceanrange nf submarine volcanoeswhich reaches south to join thesimilar mill-Atlantic ridge <strong>of</strong>fthe Cape <strong>of</strong> Good Hope).II..M.S. OWEN'S work hasseveral times in the last fewmonths taken her to the Seychelles—theonly islands in theworld essentially made <strong>of</strong>granite. Mineral specimens collectedthere by the scientistsembarked, the ship's ownNaval underwater demolitionteam, the late Governor <strong>of</strong> theSeychelles, and by Mr. B. H.Baker, <strong>of</strong> the Kenya GeologicalSurvey, have been dated atlaboratories in Cambridge andin California proving that theSeychelles granite is more thanTHENAVY<strong>Jun</strong>e. <strong>1962</strong>IS
Change language